Today’s post takes a decidedly different tone and direction from our standard format.
I’m sitting with my mom at parent’s dining room table in Chicago sifting through mountains of paperwork and enduring through difficult conversations - fighting back the tears.
Why you ask?
My father passed away suddenly three months ago in Bangkok, Thailand while traveling with his photography group pursuing his passion for capturing birds with his Canon EOS R5.
Having retired from dentistry just prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, my dad had an overwhelming thirst to engage in international travel once travel restrictions loosened in 2022. It was off to Madagascar, then Costa Rica, cruise over to western Europe, a stop through Mexico, and on and on. His infectious zest for life, embracing every moment with unwavering enthusiasm, held no boundaries. This time, unbeknownst to my dad, he boarded that 20+ hour flight to Bangkok with pneumonia in his lungs and would never see his family again.
Over the past several weeks and months, as executor, I’ve been engaging in countless calls, e-mails, and texts with the attorney, his accountant, and his broader wealth management team to establish order and direction over his estate. One DocuSign after another. A Zoom meeting here and a Teams meeting there.
It’s exhausting administrative work. Work that moves one inch per week.
My everyday role as a portfolio manager for Sandbox Financial Partners, a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), is to study financial markets and shift capital around the board in efforts to help assist families across the United States achieve their financial goals.
But…
Investment management is only just one piece to the complex puzzle that is people’s financial lives. In fact, I’d argue it’s just the starting point.
Because what people really need is financial planning.
No, that’s not just a buzz word. It’s tax planning strategies, budgets, net worth statements, cash flow analysis, estate planning, asset location, trusts, wills, beneficiaries, executors, insurance, annuities, real estate, inventory of physical assets, and password management. I could go on but you get the point.
Discussing these personal and emotional topics with family - or professionals - are often difficult conversations, but very important conversations nonetheless.
Establishing a financial plan is all about having your money serve you.
We spend countless hours over the course of our life obsessing about money and markets and investment strategies. I’d encourage everyone to take that one additional step and consult with a professional to make certain all their other financial obligations are met as well. The faster we get our ducks in a row, the better we ensure financial prosperity for our families.
As Ferris Bueller once said: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
That’s all for today.
Blake
Welcome to The Sandbox Daily, a daily curation of relevant research at the intersection of markets, economics, and lifestyle. We are committed to delivering high-quality and timely content to help investors make sense of capital markets.
Blake Millard is the Director of Investments at Sandbox Financial Partners, a Registered Investment Advisor. All opinions expressed here are solely his opinion and do not express or reflect the opinion of Sandbox Financial Partners. This Substack channel is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. The information and opinions provided within should not be taken as specific advice on the merits of any investment decision by the reader. Investors should conduct their own due diligence regarding the prospects of any security discussed herein based on such investors’ own review of publicly available information. Clients of Sandbox Financial Partners may maintain positions in the markets, indexes, corporations, and/or securities discussed within The Sandbox Daily. Any projections, market outlooks, or estimates stated here are forward looking statements and are inherently unreliable; they are based upon certain assumptions and should not be construed to be indicative of the actual events that will occur.
Blake-a post from your heart that resonates. People will best know how their money can serve them when they understand the pieces of the puzzle called their life. Organizing and understanding your financial situation is not quickly or easily done and often is best achieved with the help of a professional Financial Planner. As you noted, the unexpected can and will happen and family will be grateful when settling an Estate is less difficult because of the effort made ahead of time.
Blake,
I'm sorry for the loss of your father. Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing your experience. I love that picture of your dad at the end - what a great (and I'd argue, slightly mischievious) smile! Thankfully, your dad was able to travel a bit over the last few years.