I often receive calls from clients informing me about various home repairs. Roof leaks and replacements, water damage, new HVAC units, etc.
Less common are calls like the one I received a few years ago. The couple shared that after hearing some shuffling and scratching noises coming from their attic, they called pest control, who informed them that they had a rat problem. However, the issue was misdiagnosed. The real intruder, a possum, got its paw stuck in one of the rat traps, causing the noise level upstairs to increase dramatically, at which point the pest control agents returned and captured the unsightly marsupial. They discovered that the possum had climbed through a hole in the roof overhang, which they promptly sealed to keep other itinerant critters from gaining entry.
Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, a family of squirrels gained access to their attic by way of the chimney, but that’s a story for another time.
Most homeowners spend very little time in their attics, making them susceptible to these kinds of invasions. Possums rarely show up in people’s kitchens or living rooms, preferring a dark, quiet hideout where they are less likely to be noticed.
Likewise, people tend to check certain rooms of their financial houses more often than others.
For example, most people check their bank and credit card balances on a regular basis. They may keep a watchful eye on their brokerage and retirement accounts. They have at least a general idea of how much they spend every month, and what they spend it on. Still, even these high-traffic rooms must be regularly cleaned and organized, lest they fall into disarray.
Then there’s the attic, where people rarely venture. This is where a motley assortment of items collect and gather dust: things like estate planning documents, insurance and annuity policies, retirement plans from previous employers, small investment accounts, etc. They may sit unsupervised for years – even decades – until one day, someone opens the attic door and finds themselves face-to-face with a possum. That’s when they realize:
“I want things to be simple for my heirs, but I’ve got investment accounts at five different brokerage firms.”
“I was a new parent when I purchased this life insurance policy through a friend from college, but now my kids are grown and my estate is way more complicated.”
“I have no idea how this twenty-year-old annuity policy is structured, and I don’t think I even need it anymore.”
“The will I signed when my children were young leaves the inheritance to them outright at age twenty-five, but they’re not ready for that responsibility.”
“My estranged sister is still listed as a trustee on the trusts I set up for my family.”
No one wants to find themselves staring into the snarling face of a possum, no matter what form it takes. That’s why it’s important to check your attic periodically – to dust off those old insurance policies and estate planning documents and make sure they still serve their intended purpose. If they don’t, or if you’re not sure whether they do or not, then call a professional to resolve the issue promptly and proficiently. Promptly, because you don’t want to wait for a small possum problem to grow into a big possum problem. Proficiently, because you don’t want to hire someone who lays rat traps for a possum; you want someone who can correctly diagnose the problem and propose the right solutions.
For example, if your possum problem takes the form of an old insurance policy, you may need to take swift action to update beneficiary designations or surrender the policy before your premiums increase. Make sure your advisory team has familiarity with life insurance products so that you can determine whether the policy still serves its intended purpose, or if there are other products that better fit your needs. If your possum problem takes the form of antiquated wills and powers of attorney, you may need to prioritize drafting new documents, whether due to tax law changes or changes in your personal situation. Your advisory team should be proficient in estate planning, and have access to legal experts who can help.
Lastly, it’s best to work with an advisory team who has a view of the whole financial house, so that the solutions used to solve the possum problem don’t cause issues in any of the downstairs rooms, but instead, serve to complement the strategies being utilized elsewhere in the house.
Attics exist for a reason; not every financial or estate planning document needs to be reviewed on a frequent basis. At the same time, they shouldn’t be left unsupervised for inordinate periods of time. Check your attic periodically, and enlist the help of your advisor to keep those possums out.
And Now For Something Completely Different…
This is old news, but the 1500m final at this years Olympics was absolutely epic.