Seattle Life Management

1.      Q:  Our finances are disorganized.  How can you help us?

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A:  Seattle Life Management can meet with you and evaluate your financial situation and come up with a plan.  The results may be a limited engagement set of financial coaching sessions or an ongoing relationship to assist you with daily money management services such as financial record organization, bill paying and checkbook reconciliation.

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2.       Q:  I work long hours in my technology job and do not have time to manage my finances or get my house remodeled.  Can you help?

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A:  For busy people, we can help manage your finances as a daily money manager, and we can also provide concierge services coordinating with architects, designers and contractors to assist you in remodeling your house.  We can even coordinate maintenance work with service contactors so that you can spend time on tasks that are important to you.

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3.      Q:  I live out of town.  Can you assist my Seattle-area elderly parents with their finances?

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A:  We can create a custom plan to manage your elderly parents’ finances and meet with them on regular basis to keep everything in order.  We will develop a communications plan to update you and other relatives through teleconferences, emails and can provide a regular accounting of finances as desired.  We can also review and organize documentation and assist with billing and payment issues with insurance companies and health providers.

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4.      Q:  My spouse recently passed away and they handled all our finances.  I am totally lost in that regard.  Can you assist me?

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A:  First, we are sorry to hear of your loss and recognize this may be a time with lots of unknowns.  We can assist those who have lost a spouse organize their finances.  We start by creating a Personal Financial Statement or Balance Sheet where we inventory all your assets and liabilities at the time of your loved one’s death.  We then work with your Accountant and Attorney to make sure that all the tax and regulatory aspects of the estate are taken care of and assets are transferred correctly.  Beyond that, we can assist in setting up systems so that you manage your finances on your own, or we can assist you on an ongoing basis as a daily money manager.

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5.      Q:  My partner (husband/wife) passed away and the majority of our assets are in the stock of one company.  What do you suggest I do?

 

A:  The most important step is to create a Personal Financial Statement in order to identify the assets you own and list them by category such as stocks, bonds and real estate.  With that baseline, we can help you identify an appropriate Private Wealth Manager to assist you in logically allocating your investments and managing your assets in order to meet your financial objectives.

 

6.      Q:  My partner and I make good salaries, but we can’t seem to get ahead.  We would like to save for a house and for retirement.  What advice do you have?

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A:  The first step is to assess your situation.  We can assist you to create a Personal Financial Statement and analyze your income and spending so a budget can be created.  We can also help you create a plan so that you save money to meet your goals such as saving for retirement and purchasing a primary residence.  Budgeting and saving takes a lot of discipline, time and hard work, and often requires difficult decisions on how you spend your money; however, the results can be extremely rewarding.

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7.      Q:  What estate documents should we have?

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A:  Typically, each person should have a will-based or trust-based estate plan prepared by an Estate Planning or Elder Law Attorney.  Other important documents include a Durable Power of Attorney for Finances so that a designee (trusted relative or friend) can manage your finances if you become incapacitated and a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care so that a designee can manage your health care if you are unable to.  Additionally, it is important to have a Health Care Directive so that health care facilities know your life support wishes should you end up in a terminal condition.  We can help you identify an appropriate Attorney for your situation and make sure that your assets are titled correctly.  An excellent resource for general information on these topics is the Washington Law Help website which is maintained by the Northwest Justice Project.

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8.      Q:  How do you get compensated for your work?

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A:  Seattle Life Management charges a straight forward hourly fee for our services.  We do not sell any financial products, nor do we earn any commissions and we do not accept compensation from any advisors we may recommend.  If the circumstances permit, a retainer can be established to suit the client.