In this issue of the Sandy Spring Financial News, I will cover elements four, five and six in our discussion of the nine core elements of Transition Planning. As explained previously, planning for the three major changes in life - retirement, illness and death are critical factors in managing and preserving wealth.

Last month we started the discussion of Transition Planning by talking about legal documents, fiduciaries and the preparation of these fiduciaries. I find many clients do not realize the importance of coordinating their legal plans with their investment, tax and insurance strategies. This leads us to the next three core elements of an individual's Transition Plan - investments, taxes and insurance.

4. Assets, Retirement Plans and Investments: To assist my work in Transition Planning, I have joined with Brian Oettinger, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional who works with Sandy Spring Investment Services. His experience is critical to my work with clients in the areas of investments, taxes and insurance. Following are a few of the questions clients are asked as we work on their Transition Plan:

a.	Are your assets titled properly to coordinate with your legal documents?
b.	Have you confirmed your beneficiary designations and reviewed any joint ownership holdings?
c.	How are you handling special assets such as your home, land or businesses?
d.	Are you fully utilizing your retirement plan options?
e.	Does your asset allocation continue to meet your investment objectives?
f.	Are your mutual fund / portfolio managers providing the appropriate level of return for the risk that is being taken?
g.	Who is being proactive about monitoring or rebalancing your investment portfolio?
h.	Do you have a disciplined approach to making investments and cause for changing those investments as the economy dictates?

As the questions above demonstrate, there are many details related to your investments that must be considered when developing a Transition Plan. How prepared are you to answer all of these questions? Also, how prepared are the Fiduciaries named in your legal documents to continue your work when illness or death occurs.

5. Taxes: Do you wish to disinherit the IRS and the State where you reside? The income tax, capital gains tax and estate tax laws are more complicated than ever. Having a good tax advisor as a part of your team to help you and your decision makers prepare to handle the various tax liabilities is critical to your plans. There are many ways to deal with estate taxes; the key is to find the strategy that best works for your situation.

6. Insurance: Risk management should be a part of everyone's financial and estate plans. Having the appropriate life, health, disability, long term care and liability insurance can help protect you from the many risks we face as a family. Making sure that these insurance plans coordinate with
your estate and financial plans is vital. The decision makers named in your legal documents must also be very familiar with the types of insurance you carry and their responsibilities to act on these policies when you are not able to do so.

When I am hired by a client to assist them with their Transition Planning, one of my primary goals is to coordinate their estate plans with their investment, tax and insurance strategies. The goal is to avoid the situation whereby estate plans fail because the titling of the assets is not synchronized with the estate planning documents and tax strategies that are in place. And to ensure that decision makers such as Personal Representatives, Trustees and Agents under Financial and Medical Powers of Attorney are familiar with the investment, tax and insurance strategies the client has in place. Failure to coordinate these critical elements can lead to a compromised estate plan and significant financial loss.

Transition Planning is designed to take proactive action with the client during their lifetime to prevent such a breakdown. Next month we will talk about incapacity planning, medical wishes and estate settlement, the last three core elements of Transition Planning. Please forward this information to anyone who might benefit from it. As always feel free to call me at 301-785-4112, or send an email to pfish@sandyspringinv.com if I can help you in any way.

Philip W.S. Fish

Certified Financial Planner

Sandy Spring Bank Investment Services

pfish@sandyspringbankinv.com

The material herein represents the opinions of the author and should not be construed to represent the opinions, recommendations or official actions of Sandy Spring Bank.

Trust Services provided by Sandy Spring Bank

*Not FDIC Insured *No Bank Guarantee *Not a Bank Deposit *Not Insured by Any Government Agency *May Lose Value

Securities and insurance products are offered by, and Financial Advisors and Consultants are registered with, Linsco/Private Ledger (LPL) and its affiliates, member NASD/SIPC.  Sandy Spring Investment Services is not a broker/dealer and is not affiliated with LPL.