{"id":6440,"date":"2025-01-20T16:33:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T16:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blueleaf.com\/blog\/my-client-died-and-one-simple-question-from-his-family-changed-my-business\/"},"modified":"2025-01-20T16:33:44","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T16:33:44","slug":"my-client-died-and-one-simple-question-from-his-family-changed-my-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blueleaf.com\/blog\/my-client-died-and-one-simple-question-from-his-family-changed-my-business\/","title":{"rendered":"My Client Died and One Simple Question From His Family Changed My Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Foggy<\/p>\n

The first time one of my clients died was July 2008.<\/p>\n

He was my \u201cmost difficult\u201d client. \u00a0He asked the difficult and time consuming questions.\u00a0 He wanted to learn and understand the deepest details about what we did.\u00a0\u00a0Despite his attention and mine, neither of us expected what happened next.<\/p>\n

The phone call I received that day was from his step-son. \u00a0My clients\u2019 widow needed a broad understanding that there was more than enough to support her even without life insurance. \u00a0He said they were told to contact me.\u00a0\u00a0It turned out to be an extremely difficult conversation.<\/p>\n

In my eyes, I failed his family in the days and weeks after he passed away.<\/p>\n

The problem was that we didn\u2019t know the details of all his accounts.\u00a0 We only knew some. \u00a0There was a Thrift Savings Plan and we managed his two Schwab accounts.\u00a0 But we didn\u2019t know about the checking, savings, CDs and other outside brokerage accounts.\u00a0 I relied on the widow provide us with account statements as they were delivered.\u00a0 It was a slow, painful process for both parties. I was blind to so much.<\/p>\n

Turns out, what you don\u2019t know can<\/span> hurt you.<\/h3>\n

Death is a traumatic time period.\u00a0 It involves the loss of a loved one, dramatic change, and ongoing uncertainty.\u00a0It also involves the loss of information.<\/p>\n

Think about all the things that you know about your private life that others \u2013 probably including your spouse \u2013 don\u2019t know.\u00a0 You know your passwords.\u00a0 You know who to contact when the gutters need to be cleaned.\u00a0 You know when the property tax bill is paid.\u00a0 You know where the financial accounts are held.\u00a0 You know how bills are paid.\u00a0 When you die, all that information is extremely difficult to find, or lost altogether.<\/p>\n

But the problem is many advisors (like myself, at the time) don\u2019t have the information necessary to be truly helpful in this final stage.\u00a0 Or they are leading from behind on what is necessary to assist the family after the loss of a client.<\/p>\n

The financial planning profession has grown up with our clients.\u00a0 We were with them as they purchased life insurance to protect their young families.\u00a0 We helped them navigate the opportunities in their corporate retirement plans.\u00a0 We discussed withdrawal rates and the tax advantages of Roth conversions.\u00a0And if we do our job right, we\u2019ll be there till the end.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not 2008 anymore. \u00a0Time to fix this.<\/h3>\n

Imagine the relief a widow\/widower would have if, after losing their spouse, you are able to hand them the important details of all the financial accounts.\u00a0\u00a0 No waiting for months of mail to collect various statements. \u00a0\u00a0No more walks down to the mailbox to see if another piece of information had been delivered.\u00a0 No more hassle.<\/p>\n

Instead, you hand them the details right away.\u00a0 You help provide information and knowledge to a client in their weakest moment.\u00a0 You have lifted part of the unknown.\u00a0 You have done what the client needed.\u00a0And your decision to invest in data aggregation has provided that relief.<\/p>\n

Account aggregation is changing how we serve our clients.\u00a0 It\u2019s having an impact by providing clients with a clean, simple way to see their total financial picture \u2013 constantly updated.\u00a0 At the same time, it\u2019s giving you, the advisor, information and knowledge you need to serve them now and to serve their spouse or kids in the future. \u00a0Plus, if your aggregation is imbedded into a client portal, there\u2019s no need to \u201chand them\u201d anything.\u00a0 The whole household is already set up to see every account, where it is, and how much is in it. \u00a0This is what Blueleaf does, along with other capabilities such as a \u201cSharing\u201d feature so the family can easily share their portal with an attorney, too.<\/p>\n

No matter how the information is accessed, you have the task of proving important information to your clients the moment they need it, just as the profession has done over the last 40 years.<\/p>\n

Looking back, this difficult client helped drive me to where I am today. The experience I had with his family after his death forced me to learn a hard lesson that has improved my service completely.\u00a0 Today, they remain great clients.<\/p>\n

I encourage you to ask yourself, \u201cWhat am I blind to?\u201d and begin to close that gap, now.\u00a0 After all, when it comes to client accounts, what you don\u2019t know CAN hurt you.
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