Just recently, our CEO, Skip Rapp had the chance to talk to Chuck and Joe Utter on Money Matters Radio. Chuck and Joe are principals at Oxford Financial Designs, Inc., a registered investment advisory firm in Westminster, CO. They had over 38 years of combined experience in financial planning, and were very interested to learn about Executor's Resource and its flagship product EstateLogic. We've provided a question and answer format to the conversation Skip and Chuck had, complete with audio snippets of the talk show. Enjoy!
Chuck: When and how did Executor’s Resource get started?
Skip: Like so many high-tech / software companies, usually the idea comes when somebody encounters a problem and there has to be a better way. Our Founder Myra Salzer is a renowned financial advisor. About 10 years ago, she found herself being the executor of her Dad’s estate and figured, “This is going to be a piece of cake.” About a year into the process she found it to be a lot more complicated than she thought it was. This is the genesis of how the company got started.
Chuck: The word “executor” is often misinterpreted. Can you explain what an executor, or personal representative, does?
Skip: A recent study on a group of baby boomers revealed that only 5% could accurately describe what an executor does. A large percentage of those listening to the show today will be appointed an executor.
An executor is what I like to call “The CEO of your afterlife.” It’s the person who takes charge of all the things that you’ve got and arranges for what happens to them after you’re gone. Being an executor can take up to a year and a half, and is a daunting task.
Chuck: Who typically performs the role of personal representative (or executor) and does it tend to be a difficult job?
Skip: Yes, it can be a very time consuming job. In about 90% of cases, the personal representative or executor is a close family member or friend: someone we love and trust. Because it’s such an important role, we assign it to someone who we know we really can trust. In most cases they’re not prepared for this and for many people it ends up being a train wreck.
Chuck: So how can we make it easier for the personal representative?
Skip: The core issue really is finding the stuff. Think about all the things you accumulate over the course of your life, whether it be assets or estate documents or your own personal legacy, which in many ways is the most important thing that we pass on.
Up to 80% of the cost of settling an estate is simply finding the stuff. This can take a long time and very often there are a lot of assets that are never found
Chuck: Some people are telling us that they think wills are the be all and end all of estate planning, what would you say about that?
Skip: Well, it certainly isn’t enough. We are much much more than the sum of our assets. It’s the personal legacy, family stories, history and messages that we want to pass on to successive generations. For very many families, regardless of wealth, these are the most important things that are passed on. These are very often more important than the assets.
Chuck: We’re hearing a lot about a concept called “digital assets” or “digital afterlife.” Things like our email accounts, blogs, online social network accounts. What happens to our online life after we die?
Skip: Today a lot of individuals have their financial assets online in digital accounts. That makes it a difficult issue to find these accounts if there are no physical records of them. Around $2 billion of assets are not claimed each year because people simply can’t find them.
For other accounts like email, Google and Facebook, you need to check with each of these companies about who owns this data after they pass away. They are changing their policies as we speak to account for this issue. This points to the need for organization and trying to take care of those issues up front so you don’t put a huge burden on those you love.
Chuck: So how can Executor’s Resource play into this [digital afterlife]?
Skip: Executor’s Resource has created EstateLogic that allows you to get your arms around all the stuff you’ve got: what you have, where it’s located and who to contact. The service helps walk you through this process. It’s a great gift you can give to your executor by taking a huge amount of strain off their backs and giving them a great deal of piece of mind. There is a depository for estate documents, a place for assets, a place for family legacy and also instructions. It’s a very robust repository that’s easy to use and supported by financial guidance and education.
Chuck: So I’ve got all my important documents in a drawer at home, why would I need EstateLogic?
Skip: First of all, having those documents in a drawer at home is a good start. But the fact is it’s very unlikely that any of us, given all the things we’ve accumulated over life, can get all those things in a drawer including videos and audio recordings, photographs and other legacy things that we want to pass on to other generations. In many cases your executor might be living in another state. If they were living somewhere else they would be able to access this information online.
Chuck: Can you be more specific about how the information is kept safe?
Skip: The data goes directly from the customer into our data hosting service in Denver. These data hosting services support banks and are very secure. The key is that you have a security viewpoint from the very beginning. We hired a software security to walk with us step by step from the very beginning of the development of the software ensuring that the very best protocols are in place.
Chuck: How much does EstateLogic cost and how do people pay for it?
Skip: It’s relatively inexpensive. You can purchase EstateLogic by the month with a credit card for under $5.00. You can go to EstateLogic.com and purchase it. It’s also available through a number of financial advisors at a discount, and locally through Colorado’s Bellco Credit Union.
So how can listeners find out more?
They can go online to www.estatelogic.com. We have a 2 minute video you can watch, or you can call our customer service team at:
866-645-6051 ext 3
or locally at
303-444-5149 ext 3.
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