Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.
[00:00:27] Speaker B: Welcome to Retirement your Way with Amerilife of Central Florida, the show that puts you in control of your financial future. Your hosts, Bradley and Madison Hardin, are a trusted husband and wife team dedicated to helping you design a retirement that fits your lifestyle, your goals, and your vision for the years ahead. From smart income strategies and Social Security planning to protecting your wealth and living life on your own terms, this is the place where financial clarity meets coastal confidence. Whether you're just entering the retirement red zone or already enjoying your golden years, Bradley and Madison are here to guide you every step of the way. This is retirement you way. Let's build the future you deserve.
[00:01:12] Speaker C: Hello and welcome to Retirement yout way. I'm Matt McClure. Thanks so much for joining us. Really appreciate you being a part of things. I am here once again with Bradley and Madison Hardin from Amerilife of Central Florida.
Thanks to you both, of course, for being here as you are each and every time sharing your wisdom with us.
[00:01:27] Speaker D: Thank you.
[00:01:28] Speaker E: Thank you for having us, Matt.
[00:01:30] Speaker C: Well, it's going to be a lot of great conversations that we're going to have today before we kind of get into sort of the meat of that whole conversation that we're going to have, tell our viewers a little bit about yourselves and why you like doing what you do so much.
[00:01:45] Speaker D: So together combined, we have 17 years of experience helping clients navigate retirement safely. And we've really just built our business foundation on transparency, collaboration, and educating our clients so they can make the best decisions for their unique retirement plan.
[00:02:04] Speaker C: Really is what it's all about.
[00:02:05] Speaker E: Right. And we've only ever done this with Amerilife. You know, AmericanLife started in 1971 on the, on the west coast of Florida. And so we have the ability to know what a Flora Florida retirement looks like and what that feels like and how that's transpired over the last 50 years of us being in business. And, you know, we're just really happy to be with Amerilife and excited to help you guys today.
[00:02:30] Speaker C: Yeah, it's going to be a lot, you know, to talk about and to get into here. And, you know, I mean, it's, it's. The conversation kind of is going to focus on this particular episode of the show around something that can be a Little bit difficult to discuss. Right.
Planning for the end of your life, it's a tough discussion to have. Your family doesn't want to think about life without you may choose not to even make a plan to avoid having hard or kind of uncomfortable conversations. But the reality is that making a plan for the end of your life actually protects your family.
So the question that I have for both of you as we kind of start off this part of the show is why is legacy planning so important no matter who you are?
[00:03:14] Speaker E: Really, it's important because it gives directions and peace of mind knowing that there's already a plan in place. And we never know when that time is going to come of us passing away. But if we can at least have a plan to protect our assets, our family, our valuables. And again, our whole goal is to help you live a longer, healthier life, a marilife. And so by talking about something that is uncomfortable, really helps people know that their final wishes are going to be carried out.
[00:03:47] Speaker C: Yeah, and it's one of those things too, that if you, you know, if you don't make a plan, you know the old saying, if you fail the plan, you plan to fail. Right. And that really kind of is true when it comes to a legacy plan, because I think it was like, sort of alluded to, no matter who you are and no matter where you along the journey of life you might be, and the size of your family and the size of the estate and all of those sorts of different considerations which go into tailoring a plan specifically for you. But no matter what all those things actually are, you should really make a legacy plan, because, I mean, that is going to give that peace of mind. And I think it's going to be one of the greatest gifts that you, as someone, if you have children, can give to those children is planning for yourself. Because then they're not going to have to worry about you. Then you're going to take care of also having this legacy plan in place to. So that they don't have to worry about what happens to all of your stuff and all of the things.
Because if you don't make that plan, then it's just kind of be up to the state really to decide.
[00:04:50] Speaker D: Right. And we've all unfortunately had to suffer the loss of a loved one. And the last thing you want to be doing when you're grieving and going through your emotional process is sorting through paperwork and trying to find policies and things and figuring out who gets what and where. And so that's something that we help our Clients with all the time is not only creating that initial estate plan, which is not just saved for someone with a high dollar estate, it's for everyone is making those adjustments, making those changes, updating those beneficiaries, making sure that addresses and birthdays and all the information is correct. Because without that, it's not. The things aren't going to go where you wanted them to. And that's the whole point of saving, is that the money goes where it's supposed to. So that's something that we help our clients with a lot since, you know, living in Florida, it is a lot of people that retired here from other states. And so family members may not be just around the corner close by to help you out. So we really pride ourselves on being that person for our clients.
[00:05:58] Speaker C: Yeah. And really, you know, making that connection with them and letting them know that you are there looking, looking out for their best interests. And that's really what it boils down to, is that you will always have the client's best interest in mind no matter, you know, which part of life you're planning for.
[00:06:14] Speaker E: Right. And not every legacy plan is the same. We've, we've met with folks that they are worried more about themselves than leaving a giant nest egg down for their children because they think that, well, I raised my children, they're independent, they're taking care of themselves. So again, not every plan, you know, not everybody wants to leave a huge, large lump sum of money to their children. And that's totally fine. If, if the legacy plan is to help me have the best retirement, well, let's create that legacy. If the legacy is to, you know, pass it to the next generation, well, then we can do that also. Yeah.
[00:06:48] Speaker C: Or give them the ability to have those experiences with family now, you know, if they want to go in some big international family vacation or whatever plan for that, like that could be those memories could be part of that legacy that is very, very real and is going to be there forever living along with your memories. Right. But we got a lot more to talk about. We're actually going to go over a real live case, a real life scenario. Coming up next, about a legacy plan here, as always, you can give Bradley and Madison a call.
[00:07:20] Speaker A: 386-977-9684. That's 386-9779, 9684.
[00:07:27] Speaker C: You can also visit planretirementyourway.com that's planretirementyourway.com.
[00:07:36] Speaker B: Retirement isn't a one size fits all and neither Is your plan. This is retirement your way. With Amerilife of Central Florida, it's time for this week's problem solver.
[00:07:58] Speaker C: Talking all about legacy planning today. And we wanted to share actually a real life scenario that you all have been able to help out with. Right. There's a family, we will call them the Williams family because the names are changed to protect. To protect the innocent, to protect their identities and all of the above. But we wanted to share this because it really does go a long way toward legacy planning. It's a big part of their particular situation.
[00:08:27] Speaker E: Right, right. And so we met these clients years ago, and they were in their upper to mid-80s. And so we knew that they weren't in that beginning phase of retirement. We knew that at some point their legacy was going to transition. So a part of our process is we. We had meetings with their children. So they're adult children in their 50s and 60s, and we wanted to get everything out on the table. So one of the issues we ran into up front was all of their accounts were just spread amongst a lot of different institutions. And so the first thing we did to make it easier for the family when that time came to transition was housing it all under one team. So that was the first thing. The second thing is we removed any risk.
So in a time of transition, we wanted to make sure that the children got exactly what their parents had promised them, so we removed the risk.
And lastly, when it came time to actually distribute to the children, we explained all the different options that they have. And unfortunately, both of those clients have passed away. And we are in the process currently of transitioning those assets from the parents to the children. And as Madison said earlier, they don't all live here in the state of Florida. So we've had zoom calls, they've had to fly in to have these meetings, but ultimately, we were able to help make that transition easier from the parents down to the children.
[00:09:59] Speaker C: Yeah. And that's one of the things. Not only were their investments scattered around in different places, but the children are as well, I think, living in the Northeast and out west and all these things.
And so that adds another kind of wrinkle into the whole process, but it also, to my mind, highlights the fact that you need professional help and guidance throughout this whole situation.
And I'm sure that just means the world to this family.
[00:10:26] Speaker D: Yeah, and it means a lot to us. We take a lot of pride in being able to help our clients like they're our family members. You know, we have parents and grandparents, and we inevitably will all have to suffer loss at some point. And so it makes us feel good that we're able to help them from not only a business perspective, but just from, you know, being human, it feels good to help other humans. So they are. They're great people, and being able to facilitate the kids and now their kids, so their grandkids has been, you know, great for us. So I'm sure that it's made their process a little bit easier taking care.
[00:11:04] Speaker C: Of all of the generations.
[00:11:05] Speaker D: Generations.
[00:11:06] Speaker C: Yeah, that's right. And really, you know, I mean, that is what it's about when we talk about and we often use this kind of term on the show, I feel the holistic kind of approach, you know, a lot of people might say, okay, well, you know, if I go to work with a financial professional, like, you know, a team of financial professionals like yourselves, they're only going to be worried about my retirement, or they're only going to be worried about, you know, accumulating funds. They're only going to be worried about retirement income. But it's really is all, you know, part of the same package. And that, you know, preserving that legacy for a family like the Williams family, as we're calling them here, just is, I think, the true definition of that holistic sort of a plan. Because you were able to really solve so many different issues for them.
[00:11:55] Speaker D: Right. And that's just one example. I can think of another scenario. We ran into where we met a widow, and she kind of had things going on everywhere. She had no idea what her accounts were, what the companies were, who the beneficiaries were. She had just kind of inherited all of that. And then it was very overwhelming for her. And we sat down with her and went through every single paper, every file, every letter she had gotten, and it made the world of difference. And her kids actually reached out to us, thanking us for helping get her organized and helping ease her mind because she. She wasn't even positive of what all she had. And, you know, what a blessing at the end of the day that you have something to organize, something to leave down. But, you know, those are just a few examples of people that we've been able to help.
[00:12:49] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:12:50] Speaker C: And if you don't even know what you have, how can you plan for it?
And that is. It's got to be, you know, a great feeling on your side, as you were saying, that you were able to actually help in that particular scenario and in that situation. And it's what you all do every day. I feel like, you know, a lot of people who say, oh, I feel I'm going to feel intimidated by going to see a financial professional and getting them to look through all of my stuff and all of that. But that just goes to show you there, it can really take a lot of the load off of you and a lot of that, you know, kind of burden that you're having to carry right now. And that is something that I know that we're trying to share on the show here to people who are watching because, you know, if you want that peace of mind, if you want to be in a better place, not only for your retirement, but for leaving a legacy for future generations, we want you to just take out your phone, schedule a free consultation, that initial consultation, absolutely free of any cost or any obligation. All right, Stick around. There is much more of Retirement YOUR Way coming up.
[00:14:00] Speaker B: You're listening to Retirement your Way with Amerilife of Central Florida to schedule a no cost, no obligation consultation. Give the team a call at 386-977-9684 or visit planretirementyourway.com.
[00:14:21] Speaker A: You don't have to sacrifice style to save money on clothing.
[00:14:25] Speaker C: I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement Radio.
[00:14:27] Speaker A: Network powered by Amerilife. If you like designer brands and the latest looks, you don't have to buy them at high end clothing stores. Andrea Warrock is a consumer expert and recently told Fox 32 Chicago, when it.
[00:14:39] Speaker E: Comes to clothing, the best way to save is to purchase your clothing secondhand.
[00:14:44] Speaker C: And there are so many resources, whether it's your local consignment store or an online resale.
[00:14:50] Speaker A: Websites like Poshmark, Thredup and others have become go to places for those looking for bargains on clothes. Warrock says other sites even allow you to send in your old clothes, which will earn you credits. Then you can turn around and use those credits to buy clothes others have sent in. Then of course, there are consignment shops and thrift stores. There may be a certain stigma attached to those options. But Goodwill store manager Troy Sanders told Fox 32, that's changing.
[00:15:18] Speaker B: Many items we get, they're brand new with tags, you know, so that stigma of coming in, getting, you know, used, you know, items at a Goodwill, it isn't entirely true.
[00:15:27] Speaker C: I actually think that's a misconception that's going away.
[00:15:30] Speaker B: We found in a lot of our stores we have younger customers that are.
[00:15:33] Speaker C: Coming in and they don't have that.
[00:15:35] Speaker B: Same stigma, you know, that previous generations have had.
[00:15:38] Speaker A: And shopping at a thrift store could get you Those new clothes at a fraction of the cost of buying them new. With the Retirement radio Network powered by AmericanLife.
[00:15:46] Speaker C: I'm Matt McClure.
[00:15:49] Speaker B: Welcome back. It's time to talk more about building the retirement you've been dreaming about. This is retirement your way.
Come on down as we test your financial knowledge in right or wrong.
[00:16:17] Speaker C: This is retirement your way. I'm Matt McClure. I appreciate you sticking around for this portion of the show with Bradley and Madison Hardin and myself, of course, because this is, I think, probably my favorite part of the show because we got to kind of have a little fun and still be educational at the same time. This is right or wrong. It is our favorite financial game because I get to test their financial know how and you get to test your own because we encourage you to play along. What's going to happen is I am going to present a statement. I'll just say it as if it's the honest truth.
And if that statement is right, then great. If it's wrong, they're going to let me know immediately. All right. It's kind of how it works here. You'll get the hang of it as you go along. See if you can tell whether I'm, I'm fibbing or telling the truth at each one of these statements. All right, so number one this time around, all about kind of legacy planning as we've been talking about here on the show so far. And number one is this, life insurance can only be used as a death benefit and provides no other features until the policyholder dies.
[00:17:20] Speaker E: That is wrong.
So, you know, everybody does have that misconception that, you know, this is death insurance, it's only going to pay out when somebody dies. And so that's not the case. Where now there are policies that are permanent, then they also build cash value. So later on in life, if you need to use that as tax free income, you can.
And an even more sophisticated approach would be that cash value can be invested or tied to an index. So therefore, while you're putting money into that bucket, it's growing like it would on the stock market, but also providing no risk. And if you were to die early or prematurely, that death benefit is payable tax free to your beneficiaries to several.
[00:18:05] Speaker C: Kind of benefits there within one package. Really, it's like a one size fits all sort of a thing because everybody's situation is different. And obviously the particular policy would be, you know, tailored to that person for their needs. One might be right for them, another might be completely wrong for them. That kind of thing.
But it could really check a lot of the boxes. In other words, for people and in.
[00:18:28] Speaker D: Our meetings, that is something that we take pride in doing is explaining what you currently have. So what type of life insurance do you have? What type of benefit is it going to provide? Who is the beneficiary? And often we see that clients aren't even fully aware of the type of insurance that they have. It may be very old or they just were unsure of the type that they purchased when they got it. So we try to really educate clients and help them understand what would happen in the case of them passing away.
[00:18:59] Speaker C: Or it could even be like for pre retirees, for example, they are the only type of life insurance they might have would be a group policy through their work or something like that. So yeah, get them set up with something that's going to be more beneficial and provide more value to them in potentially several different ways here. All right, number two in this Legacy Planning edition of Right or Wrong is this. I can write a will on a napkin and it will be considered a legally binding document.
[00:19:27] Speaker E: Technically, that is right, but we do not recommend that.
[00:19:31] Speaker C: I kind of knew you were going to say that.
[00:19:33] Speaker E: Yeah. And part of the process when we sit down and meet is going through what is your intention? What is your plan? What would you like to happen upon your passing? I know it's an uncomfortable conversation, but it's one that has to happen.
[00:19:48] Speaker C: Yeah, it really is. And it's super important because, you know, not only does it put your mind at ease if by coming up with a plan for yourself, it also puts your, your relatives, your loved ones, your kids, grandkids, that, that sort of thing, it puts their minds at ease as well.
Because since you look at it so holistically, in your business of what you do, you're covering not only the retirement years, but you're also. Okay, what's going to happen after that? What's going to happen after I'm no longer here and my loved ones are left behind? What are my intentions for that? So it's very, very, very good thing to keep in mind. All right, the next one. Number three, in this edition of Right or Wrong is the only way for me to leave my heirs a tax free inheritance is with life insurance.
[00:20:39] Speaker D: So that is wrong. And we are seeing a big trend upwards in the Roth IRA conversions for this reason, to be able to leave your heirs, your assets tax free right.
[00:20:53] Speaker E: In, in the Roth ira. Again, anything that you put in and any growth inside of that investment is not taxable you know, unlike an IRA or a 401k, once you get to a certain age, you have to start taking money out of that. And so with Roth IRAs, they don't have that provision. And you're able to keep investing.
[00:21:13] Speaker C: Yeah, because the money that's in, that goes in, you've already paid the taxes on now or whenever that money was, was put in there. You pay that with after tax money so you don't reach a certain age. And Uncle Sam's that's sitting there being like, okay, show, show me the money.
Yeah. All right, one more to go here. In this particular edition of our game, it is this. A financial professional can't really help me with an estate plan, just my stocks, bonds or other investments.
[00:21:41] Speaker D: That is wrong.
So that is also something that we take a lot of time when we are meeting clients if they already have an estate plan or if we're creating one for the first time. It's not just regarded for people with high dollar estates. It really can benefit anyone. And so we both have parents, we have grandparents, we have kids. So we understand the value in having a proper plan because we can see it from all sides of things.
[00:22:11] Speaker E: Right. And whether it's your health care, your extended care needs, your income needs, your legacy planning. We try to give advice on everything, not just what should my investments be doing and how should they be positioned. And many times we meet with the children of our clients to make sure they know who to call in that, in that uncertain time or when that, when that time does come to pass.
[00:22:33] Speaker C: Yeah. And I, you know, I think that a lot of people might hear that term estate plan and think, oh, I have to live in some big mansion somewhere to be able to do now it's just important that no matter what you have, no matter how much you have or any of those things, that you have a plan for it. And that really is kind of the bottom line, folks, is you need a plan. And I know a couple of people who can help you get one if you don't have a plan. And they'll be happy to get it started for you right now. And by them, I mean Bradley and Madison Hardin with the Marilife of Central Florida. You know, we've covered a lot of territory on the show today. Talked about a lot of very important things and about some difficult, as we, as we set up in the beginning, some difficult conversations to have, but very important conversations to have when it comes to planning for a legacy.
What would you say either one of you is the most important or Kind of one of the most important, at least overriding themes, the thing that you want people to, if they, if they don't remember anything else from watching this half hour of tv, the one thing that you really want to drive home.
[00:23:33] Speaker E: For folks, we just want to emphasize the importance of having a plan.
Whether that is a plan for retirement, a plan through retirement, or a plan after retirement, we really, it helps everything go a lot smoother. And so creating a plan, legacy plan, you want to make sure that what you intended to have happen gets carried out. So I know a phrase we like to mention is do your intentions match your actions? And so if you intend on your family receiving an inheritance or the children getting the house, is that written down? Is that in a plan? And if so, is there somebody helping you manage get that plan from point A to point Z?
[00:24:20] Speaker C: Exactly. Not even, not even point B. You've got to go all the way through the Alphabet because, I mean, but it's very important because, you know, we're talking obviously about end of life issues in many ways today. And having, you know, that illustration be end of the Alphabet is very, is very appropriate. And yeah, you know, you know, talk about it being the, you know, getting you to retirement, getting you through retirement, getting after retirement, a lot of it, and we've mentioned this before, but a lot of it is the fact that all of these things and in these different phases or these things that might seem like they're not related are really all related. Right. Because if you have a plan to take care of yourself, then the kids, the grandkids, don't have to worry about you nearly as much. They know that you're going to be taken care of. So then you've planned for your life and then you can work on planning for theirs. And what's going to happen after you're gone.
[00:25:12] Speaker D: Exactly. And even if you've already made that initial plan, it's important to regularly review it and make sure that it's up to date, that your beneficiaries are up to date and all the information is correct. And, you know, things change as we grow and evolve in life. So it's important to take those regular maintenance visits, you know, as we say, and get a fresh set of eyes. Even if you've already worked with someone in the past just to see if a new approach may benefit you. And we take great pride in being able to help our clients, and a lot of them, because they live in Central Florida, may have relocated away from family or from those people that would be assisting them with these sorts of things. So we really put a high value on being able to be just one phone call away to help people with those difficult times, like you mentioned.
[00:26:05] Speaker C: Yeah, they really are, you know, difficult, as we say, conversations to have and all of that, but super, super important. And, you know, when people do reach out, maybe for that initial consultation, do you find that that's, do people often bring that up? You know, it's like, okay, what's going to happen after I'm, after I'm gone? Or is it one of those things that you kind of have to dig in a little bit and be like, okay, have you planned for this?
Because they do tend to be difficult.
[00:26:31] Speaker E: Right. And it's definitely something that we have to kind of get out. We have to have that conversation because anything can happen at any time. And like Madison said, having those regularly scheduled maintenance visits, something as simple as, oh, my son moved or my daughter moved or they got remarried, and, you know, those things need to be addressed and updated on a regular basis because, again, we don't know what can happen and when that will happen.
[00:26:58] Speaker D: Right. And clients aren't regularly thinking about those things like we probably are. But we, we've been doing this every day and have a combined 17 years of experience. So luckily, those are the things that we think about and we enjoy doing it. So we would love to use this platform to reach a whole new audience of people and expand our horizon also.
[00:27:20] Speaker C: Yeah, it's, you know, if the fact is, you know, knowledge is power. You both lead with education. As we've been saying in your meetings with folks in your initial consultations. The QR code is right there at the bottom of your screen if you would like to reach out for one. That initial consultation, just to kind of wrap everything up in a nice little bow here, is of course, free of any cost, free of any obligation. And Bradley and Madison are very good at getting down, sitting down, rather, and getting to know you, getting to know your situation, getting to know what your needs, your wants, your desires are. Get in touch with them and set that up so you can get a plan for your life and for what happens after your life as well. Well, Bradley, Madison, thank you both so much for being a part of things as always, and we'll look forward to doing it again.
[00:28:07] Speaker D: Thank you, Matt.
[00:28:08] Speaker E: Thank you, Matt.
[00:28:08] Speaker C: Thank you. And thank you for being a part of the show as well today. We'll see you right back here next time for more Retirement your way.
[00:28:16] Speaker B: Thanks for joining us for Retirement your Way with Amerilife of Central Florida. Our goal is to bring clarity and confidence to your retirement journey. Remember, Bradley and Madison Hardin are here to help you create a personalized plan for the future you deserve. If you'd like to schedule a no cost, no obligation consultation, give the team a call at 386-977-9684 or visit. Plan retirement your way and don't forget to tune in next week, same time, same place for more strategies, insights and support to help you live retirement your way. Investment Advisory Services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, llc, a registered investment advisor. BCM and Amerilife are separate companies but are affiliated through Common Ownership Insurance. Products and services are not offered through bcm, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents not affiliated with the United States Government. Bradley and Madison Hardin do not offer tax or legal advice. Consult with your tax advisor or attorney regarding specific situations. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. These opinions are not intended to predict future performance of any product. All information provided is believed to be from reliable sources. However, we make no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of any statement. This information is intended to be educational in nature and does not provide a guarantee or specific result. All copyrights and trademarks are the property of the respective owners. Amerilife assumes no responsibility or liability for the content of this man.
The information contained herein is provided on an as is basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness, timeliness, or the results obtained from the use of this information.
