aration is the key to building home-court
advantage. Unfortunately, most heirs
never find out what their duties are until
someone dies. Executors and trustees are
named without any knowledge of what
is expected or required of them. When
are these future responsibilities best addressed? Before the event begins. Advisors must ask each member of the team
to be ready to perform their tasks before
being asked to enter the game, if we are
going to be successful.
Prepare heirs for their ultimate roles
by teaching practical skills. Would a
coach send a player out on the field without having given him the knowledge and
skills he would need? Not if he wanted to
win. Yet we do this to our clients’ heirs. Is
this fair? Is it prudent? Home-court advantage requires family leadership that
teaches practical skills that will be needed in the future.
Create a sense of family identity
for the heirs. A family without roots or
a sense of purpose will have a more difficult time withstanding the trials and
THE CLIENT MUST
UNDERSTAND HIS
TOTAL WEALTH,
WHICH INCLUDES
TANGIBLE AND
INTANGIBLE ASSETS.
tribulations that go along with genera-tional transitions. Alexander Hamilton
once said: “Those who stand for nothing may fall for anything.” A family that
has identified who they are and what they
are about will provide the framework to
which future generations can adhere.
Finally, there are advisors who are
helping families create this kind of home-court advantage. The comprehensive
planning process now goes beyond the financial plan; it also includes a family vision meeting, a current analysis, a plan
design and implementation.
By addressing total wealth, which includes personal, financial and social
wealth, you can establish your clients’
own family home-court advantage where
it counts—at home.
Monroe M. Diefendorf Jr., CLU, is a 30-year
MDRT member with four Court of the Table
and four Top of the Table qualifications. He
is CEO of Diefendorf Capital Planning Associates and founder of 3 Dimensional Wealth
International. He is coauthor of 3
Dimensional Wealth: A Radically Sane Perspective
on Wealth Management. Contact him at 516-
759-3900 or at roey@diefendorfcapital.com.
New Look New Year New Writers.
NAIFA’s Advisor Today is undergoing a redesign. The new
cover look (see photo) was debuted during the NAIFA
Convention and Career Conference in San Diego.
Look for the first redesigned magazine in January 2009.
Now we need new ideas and new writers to go along
with the new look. Do you have ideas that have worked
in your business that you’d like to share with your colleagues? How about sales tips or a case study from your
business? We’d love to hear from you.
Contact us to discuss the article you’d like to write.
Not a writer? We’d still like to hear your ideas.
Help us make 2009 the best year yet!
CONTACT:
Ayo Mseka, Editor-in-Chief
703-770-8204 or amseka@naifa.org
