Community Bankers

From a business owner's perspective, I am becoming more and more fond of community banks.  I actually had dinner with my bank's president last night and I felt like I was talking to one of my friends.  For so long, I was using bigger regional or national banks and I really don't know why. They always made me fell like I a number.  I would cringe anytime I needed some banking information or god forbid a loan.  Every time I called PNC, I would be directed into a 10 minute minimum phone directory chain with endless pin numbers and passwords.  All this time spent just to hear the computer generated voice say I need to jump through another hoop. I want a banker who knows me and a place where a human being picks up the phone when I call. I am selfish in that I hope my community bank stays a secret so that I can keep getting this great service and more importantly great relationship. Unfortunately for me, I don't think it will stay a secret long because word will get around that the team at Main Street bank is committed to being responsive to their clients. If my business is ever in a bind or if I need clarification on a banking policy I know I have someone who I can call who at least knows who I am and will give me a straight answer.  I believe I have spent far too much time with the wrong banks.


I recently heard the following statement, "if you are going into business, you need to align yourself with a good accountant, lawyer and banker."  I think most business people overlook the importance of a trusted banker.  I identified with the statement because I sometimes feel the same way when explaining why it is makes all the sense in the world to do your estate plan with an attorney you like and who wants to create an ongoing relationship with you.  If you don't get along with the attorney, how do you expect your family to get along with him/her? The family and the attorney are ultimately going to have to work with one another at some point (unless you plan on living forever in that case it does not apply to you).  For those who want to risk all their wealth and love for their family on a downloadable form, good luck. You get what you pay for as I see instances everyday of poorly thought out plans with little to no follow-through by either side.  When I heard the statement quoted above from the CEO of my community bank, it occurred to me how many business people miss the simple point that a relationship with the right banker is just as important to your business as working with the right accountant or attorney.  I missed the point for many years so it should not be a surprise if it doesn't automatically click for others.

As a business owner, the lesson I learned is that I should not expect everyone to automatically get my business' mission of  'creating plans that work'.  Sometimes I would wonder what I was saying wrong because I felt that people did not perceive the value we are providing. How we are so different from most of the competition because we simply have a maintenance plan with our clients to keep their plan updated with changes in the law and family.  As the CEO of my company, I just need  keep our message clear and our team focused on our clients.  Eventually it will click for other people just like it clicked for me.  At least that is what i am hoping. . .

This blog is not intended to be used as legal, tax or financial advice.   

Why I love being an estate planner

Driving into work today I was thinking about the rest of my November leading into Thanksgiving and I had to smile.  Work doesn't feel like work anymore.  First, I was thinking about ways I could boost my team's morale and their bottom line by tying customer retention with a law firm retirement plan.  I believe my law firm's future (InSight Law) depends on treating our existing clients like one of my own family.  I want my team to understand that their future is tied to our clients' ongoing satisfaction. 

Second, I thought about the future of InSight Law.  I feel lucky enough to have the type of relationship with my clients that they can tell me anything.  We set the expectation early that we are in this together and I believe this mutual respect makes the difference.  My value to the client is that the more information I know about the family and specific situation, the more legal options I will be able to identify for the family.  Why I love being an estate planner is that I get to work with people in a setting where I can be creative in my art while also applying sound legal techniques.

For example, one of my client's is trying to decide whether he should pursue 2012 end of year estate tax planning given that the laws are potentially scheduled to change for the worse (i.e. higher taxes on the horizon).    He also has the fundamental concern for his family's future after he is gone.  He told me that he tried to dedicate at least some portion of his day just trying to improve his family's future. Whether it is simply making a phone call to a relative, or putting together a family photo album, planning for retirement, or working on his estate plan.  To me it clear, that this man loves his family dearly and has made it a priority in his life.  I knew I had to capture this love and non-material wealth as well or I would really be doing the family a disservice. So I interviewed him on camera and asked him about his family and his life.  I asked him about the good times, the bad times and what life lessons he would like to share, etc.  He opened himself up to who he was so that his family had a lasting memory of who he was and what his life was about.  He told me that the video meant more to him than his whole financial estate.  After he said that to me, I got that feeling of clear direction in my practice.  We connected who he was to his financial wealth through a video that showed his love for family.  Simple and elegant while taking full advantage of the laws of Virginia as well as federal laws.  We built a solid bridge for generations of his family to come and build on.

It is human nature that we need to grow and evolve (technology, medicine, law, etc.).  Unfortunately, in my profession it is the norm where the death of a family member causes a negative impact on the family's future.  Of course the death of a family member will cause grieving and there will be a time of mourning.  I believe it is my job to help the family through this transition by guiding them through the legal issues while letting them know your hopes for them.  It truly is the ultimate gift when done right.

I want to do this type of planning for all of my clients.  Unfortunately, only a minority of my clients elect to do the Legacy Interview(TM).  At least once a year, I give my clients the opportunity to sign up for an interview, however, it has not been well received to this point.  As a business owner, it is frustrating to see my clients not taking advantage of a service that I believe would make a big difference to their plan in the form of a positive impact on their family's future well being.  However, this is also why I love being an estate planner.  It is facing these types of challenges that makes my life rewarding.  Hopefully in a few years, it will be the norm where my clients all of have a Legacy Video interview in their file along with their legal documents.


Client statement references above were made with full permission of the Client.  This blog is not intended to serve as legal, financial or tax advice.  Seek your own qualified professional for specific questions. 

A System That Produces Positive Results

For the past 10 years, I have gone to Lake Placid, New York to play in a Lacrosse tournament.  The first 6 years I went to the tournament I would play on random local teams and our teams would never go very far in the tournament.  I always has a good time but there was always something missing (besides the fact that we never won the tournament). 

 However, the past 4 years my college teammates decided to put together a team ( I went to Syracuse University).  The alumni from Cornell had been doing this for years and they consistently won the tournament.  The first 2 years we played together we lost in the championship game to the Cornell Alumni (known as the "Rusty Red"). However, the last 2 years we have won the tournament (our team name is the "Burnt Orange").

I want to share some of my personal reflections about the tournament since I have made this change of playing with my former teammates.  Since I am now an estate planning attorney, I believe I can draw some connections between what I have experienced at the peaks of Lake Placid and my estate planning practice.

First and foremost, I think the culture and tradition of playing at Syracuse University adds immediate value to the quality of the team and the quality of the experience at Lake Placid.  Since we are familiar with the Syracuse system as well as each other's playing styles we have a much stronger team than most and the positive results are evident in the final scores of the games.

I believe a similar connection can be drawn to estate plans that are prepared for my clients. We use a consistent process and system to develop our clients' estate plans. Everyone essentially goes through the same steps (although there are many different variations depending on a client's personal situation, the process each client goes through is the same).  Since the clients' are familiar with the process they feel comfortable that they actually understand their plan.  Just like playing under the same system giving our team an edge on the playing field, our lawfirm's consistent system gives our clients' confidence in creating a strong plan for their family.  I think a lot of the negative experience with estate planning comes from the clients' lack of understanding of how their plan works.

The second important connection is that having a relationship with my teammates gives me an edge on the playing field since I know what to do and where my teammates are supposed to be at different stages of the game.  Similarly, I believe having a relationship with my clients will give our firm (and our clients) an edge in creating a successful plans with our clients.  I believe that the members of my law firm and my clients are teammates together with one common goal - creating a plan that works for our clients and their families.  Since the success of my clients' plan will occur at some date in the future then I think it is essential that we maintain a good relationship with our clients. That is why we communicate with our clients at least annually to make sure we are up to date with any changes in the family.  In turn, we provide our clients with updates in the law. If we maintain a good relationship with our clients over a number of years, then I believe the chances of a successful plan goes up dramatically.

I believe that the biggest difference in the way InSight Law works with their clients compared to the traditional estate planning process is that we commit to a formal maintenance and education program for our clients at the start of the planning process. Our clients all know to expect that the most important step in our process is the ongoing relationship that our law firm team has with your family.

These are my reflections about this years' Lake Placid lacrosse tournament. Go Cuse!