Our 3 step life planning process
All planning, such as financial planning, tax planning, and succession planning starts with life planning.
Exploring Objectives
Determining your Goals and Objectives
This is one of the most important steps in the Life Planning Process. It reveals the objectives the client wants to achieve. Without it, the Life Plan will lack direction and important aspects of a client’s life could be dramatically overlooked. Sufficient time must be spent doing this, preferably in face-to-face meetings between the advisor and client. It can be a great relief to get all those ideas down on paper instead of carrying them around with you in your mind!
Fact & data gathering
A detailed list of all relevant financial facts, as well as immediate and future life goals are explored and compiled, either during this same meeting or at a subsequent meeting. That’s it! The hard part for the client is done, now our work starts in earnest!
Needs analysis
A needs analysis is a snap shot of the client’s current situation. This is created when Black Spruce ties the data collected with the initial areas of focus, namely the objectives.
Financial planning software
Finally, everything we have gathered, your goals and objectives, the facts and data, are loaded into our preferred Financial and Life Planning software. The financial software is an essential tool for compiling and formulating both Life and Financial Plans. Can this work be done without such a vehicle? Yes, of course, however the process has been made efficient with up-to-date tax rules. This is a great starting point for mapping the future progress from a frozen point in time! This step is also dynamic, as it can be altered and adjusted as time passes and your situation changes.
Sculpting a Financial Plan
Review plan options from software
The software will help us generate financial plan options that are feasible for accomplishing the discussed goals.
Identify achievable goals
Client and financial advisor then examine these wealth management options as a team, to hone in on the achievable goals.
Revisit objectives to confirm goals
Before proceeding to Plan design, it is necessary to revisit the client’s life and financial objectives and account for any changes so they too can be reflected, if possible, in the Plan. Final decisions are made about the goals and objectives.
Plan formulation and design
Now we can formulate and design a Plan.
The Outcome
Review and approve plan
When reviewing the Plan, it is a good sign when clients are inherently comfortable and excited by the potential they see with this roadmap. Once the plan is approved, we can implement it.
Implement chosen plan
Implementing the Plan at this point entails putting the proper vehicles and services in place, e.g., Hold co.’s, trusts, investments and insurance.
Review the outcome
This is the stage just after the Plan is put into place to ensure that it has been done correctly according to the design. The Plan will encompass one or more aspects of life planning, financial planning, estate planning, succession planning, estate planning.
Monitor the plan
A periodic review of the Plan is essential in the wealth management process to make sure we are on track, and that we are able to make adjustments to the plan if any of the client’s life or financial goals have changed, or if their financial situations have altered. Usually done annually, however quarterly or semi-annually are also common.
*The above is a detailed break down of the Black Spruce 3 Step Planning Process. However, as the sub-steps are closely connected with one another, it is often the case where some of the sub-steps are merged together creating a more fluid process.