How To Plan Effectively

Financially speaking, it’s always important to plan for the future. Life can be unpredictable, after all, and it’s important to think ahead in order to not only preserve and grow one’s wealth but also to plan for how it will be dispersed or distributed after one’s passing.

That’s where financial planners and estate planners come into play. These professionals can help you with a range of financial matters, but it’s important to understand that financial planners and estate planners aren’t quite the same thing. This guide will cover all you need to know.

What Is Financial Planning?

Let’s begin with a look at financial planning. As the name suggests, a financial planner is someone who helps you plan out your financial goals and journey. They can review your current situation with accounts, assets, and investments and work with you to identify goals you want to reach and consider the best ways to achieve those goals.

The main role of a financial planner or advisor is essentially to help you get your make the most of the money you have and help it work for you in the long term. They’ll help you generate a financial plan and work out a road map to help you grow and maintain your finances in the years to come, complete with expert advice and recommendations.

Why Should You Hire a Financial Planner

There are many advantages to working with a financial advisor. Here are just some of the key reasons to choose one:

• Long-Term Targets – One of the main reasons why many people choose to work with a financial planner is so that they can achieve long-term financial targets. These experts can help you save up a certain amount ahead of your retirement, for example.
• Expert Advice – Even if you have good financial knowledge, it often helps to have an expert by your side who can provide advice and recommendations to make your money go further. Like an estate planning attorney, a financial planner will use their knowledge and expertise to help you financially.
• Peace of Mind – Many people stress about their finances. In fact, studies suggest that money is the No. 1 stress concern in the world today. With a financial planner on your side helping you with your long-term financial roadmap, you should be able to enjoy peace of mind and calmness.
• Maximizing Value – Another big benefit of working with a financial planner is that they’ll help you maximize the value of your current accounts and investments. You might be missing out on potential benefits or could be putting your money to better use, and a planner will help you see that.

What Is Estate Planning?

Next, let’s look at estate planning. Despite the fact that it might sound similar to financial planning, it’s actually a very different process. Estate planning is only handled by an estate planning attorney, and the process essentially involves planning out how your assets and wealth will be distributed after your death.

The process involves preparing wills and trusts, as well as making plans for possible eventualities which may occur in your lifetime, like physical incapacity or mental illness that might make it impossible for you to make financial decisions by yourself. A complete estate plan will therefore incorporate a will, trusts, and necessary powers of attorney for various possible outcomes.

The Difference Between Estate Planning and Financial Planning

Both estate planning and financial planning are about making plans to manage one’s wealth and make sure it’s all properly organized, but that’s where the similarities end. Financial planning is much more focused on growing a person’s wealth and reaching financial targets during their lifetime, while estate planning is a process for planning out what will happen to a person’s wealth if they die or become unable to manage it themselves.

Do I Need An Estate Planner? A Financial Planner? Or Both?

As we can see, estate planners and financial planners each have their own distinct parts to play, and it’s important to be aware of what each one does and make the most of both of their services if you want to enjoy maximum financial control and freedom.  If you want to make your money work for you and hit future goals, a financial planner can help, and if you wish to ensure that your loved ones are looked after in the future, an estate planner is crucial.