July 20, 2022

From Neel:

Some of our articles get more responses than others. We expect this one to be a doozy. 

We’ve changed.

Here’s how I describe it: we bought a very large 747 airplane. And then our team ripped out all of the first-class seats. Then we ripped out all of the business class seats. Followed by the coach’s class seats. And what do we do next? We replace them with plush recliners, put on some beautiful music, and hired a gourmet chef to have the best meals served.

Of course, now it means there is less room on this plane, but the folks who are on are having an amazing experience!

In both of the examples below, our ‘passengers’ (clients) have pretty much shared with me the same thought:

  ‘In every meeting with you, I am simultaneously talking to my investment advisor who proactively gives me tax advice to reduce my tax liability, my legal counsel who protects my assets using documents and strategies that you implement in-house, and you are a fiduciary who is always looking out for my best interests. And I am paying you what I would normally pay someone who just provides investment advice? And by the way, you happen to have prepared thousands of estate/elder law plans & conducted thousands of corporate/business/real estate transactions for over 20 years?’

Here are the two examples (and what it means for you below):

  Ex. 1.)   Retiree Dealing with an Ill Family Member: One of our newer clients this month has an unfortunate situation with a family member who is going to need long-term care. We are implementing a system that will help identify & provide the income for this care while managing investments in a way that we mitigate tax liability for the income to be withdrawn. We will enhance his current will & add a trust plan to maximize asset protection, while also reviewing the ‘healthy’ spouse’s current long-term care plan in case the caregiver needs help. Of course, will make sure the next generation is also taken care of.

  Ex. 2.)   Entrepreneur Dealing with a Business Exit. Another group of clients is in the process of having a significant exit event (sale of business/real estate.) They are being rewarded for decades worth of work. We are minimizing the tax impact on the exit, as well as the ongoing tax impact on the money that comes in. Part of that is an asset protection strategy. We are implementing & maintaining a financial strategy that ensures that their life goals and their legacy goals are met. We are making sure that our clients and future generations are successful-and in fact helping our clients to define what success means to them.

Ok, so what does this mean for you?

If you are already a Shah Total Planning client (Beacon Wealth + Shah and Associates) – I have YOU to thank for helping us complete this transition. My primary motivation is to serve you in a deeper, meaningful way. It is my vow to you to provide constant and never-ending improving service. You will have more of me & our team. And this list of What We Do will continue to grow for you.

If you have been just a law firm client, (we have completed or in the process of completing your estate plan) – you have nothing to worry about: we keep our promises. I appreciate the faith and confidence you have bestowed upon me & our team to create your estate plan & we do not take such responsibility lightly. You have my word that whenever you need something and you need to speak with our team, we will be here for you. Although we may not be able to draft new legal documents for everyone – you will always have our counsel and advice.

In the future, if you just need a will, trust or estate plan – we may not be the ones to fulfill the need. That’s not because we don’t do it anymore-we still do, and I think we do it quite well. And we are getting even better at it (stay tuned for our estate planning updates!) But we just can’t do it for everyone.

And if you are not yet a client? Well, this is the fun part. Are we a good fit for one another? That’s not an easy option. It is a little different than just creating an estate plan. We could start and be finished with an estate plan within weeks or months. But to become a Shah Total Planning client means we are committing to a much deeper, regular recurring level of service for you. If you are receiving this email, it means that I am open to having a conversation with you to see whether we are a good fit for one another. We see it as our responsibility as leaders and contributing members of the community to connect with anyone who needs help. Although we will not be the right fit for everyone-we will always try to find the right service provider for anyone who reaches out to us even if it is not us. 

If you’d like to schedule a time to speak to us to learn more about what we do and how we can help you, click here.

Rest assured, we will continue educating the community using these newsletters and our social media platforms on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and other platforms.

If we are not already connected, please find me, and let’s connect there. See you soon!