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Financial Planning
PLEASE READ THE DISCLAIMER
Topics included in this section:
What is Financial Planning?
Financial
planners assist families in determining how much money the individual will
need to maintain the life style he/she has enjoyed.
They will look at the parents’ current financial status and
develop a plan for you. The
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP) can give you
information on how to choose a financial planner and other important
information about financial planning.
They are listed under “Financial Planning” on the links page.
Families have told me that financial planners have found money they didn't know they
had! "It was the best thing that ever happened to me!"
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The Financial Planning Process
Financial planning gives you the "big picture" of your finances and allows
you to plan for the future in a more organized way. You will look at both the short term
and long term effects of your finances. The CFP Board states there is a process consisting
of six steps:
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Establish a client-planner relationship. During this step,
you will learn the services to be provided and the responsibilities of the
client and the planner. You will learn how he/she will be paid and by
whom. |
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Gather data, establish your financial goals, and define a
time frame |
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Analyze and evaluate your financial information |
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Make recommendations that address your goals |
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Implement the agreed upon recommendations |
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Monitor the recommendations |
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How do I Choose a
Financial Planner?
You will want to determine the qualifications of a financial planner to assist you.
Here are some issues to consider when choosing a financial planner:
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What is your experience? Do you have an understanding of
planning for a family who has a member with a disability? |
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What are your qualifications, e.g. education and scope of
the business is important, along with the type of education received? How do you
stay current with changes in the financial planning field? |
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What services do you offer? There are many financial
advisors who work a little differently depending on their focus. For example, you will
find financial advisors who are accountants, estate planners, financial planners,
insurance agents, investment advisors and stockbrokers. They all have a little different
slant on financial matters. |
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How do you approach financial planning? How aggressive
are you? How do you look at your client's assets, as a whole or parts to the whole? |
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Do you work with other professionals? Sometimes financial planners work
with others professionals, e.g., insurance agents, who are not in the scope of their practice but can
supplement with other information. |
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How do you get paid? There are a variety of ways the
financial planner gets paid. One way is by salary by the company for whom he/she works.
Another is by a fee, hourly, flat fee, etc. Commissions from sales of investments is
another way they are paid, as is a combination of fees and commissions. |
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How much do you charge? |
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Have you ever been disciplined in your professional career? |
Many times, attorneys work closely with financial planners and the attorney might refer
you to someone. It also works in the reverse: the financial advisor might refer you to an
attorney.
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Links? Look in the Financial Planning or Life Planning sections on the
Links Page.
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This page was last updated on February 02, 2006
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