A.  Estate Planning Center was founded in the early 1990’s. We all have had prior experience prior to joining Estate Planning Center, whether it be with banks, mutual fund company sales, Edward Jones, Provident Mutual or many of the other well known companies that you may have heard of. We are licensed for securities and insurance in order to provide the comprehensive financial planning clients need. Those licenses include the FINRA Series 7 Securities License, the NC State Securities Registration Series 63 License, the FINRA Investment Advisor Representative Registration Series 66, and the NC Insurance licenses. Jerry has other education as well, such as LUTCF (Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow) designation and has attended such programs as Ed Slott’s IRA bootcamp. On top of this experience, Although Jerry is not a tax preparer and does not provide tax services, he has previous training in tax preparation and this helps him to better understand and be able to plan for tax planning needs that a client might have. This is a hallmark belief of our company that a comprehensive financial planner must understand and be able to give advice on tax strategies and effectively coordinate with a client’s tax advisor. This in our opinion helps complete the picture of your financial situation.

A.  Estate Planning Center prides itself on the goal of providing a truly comprehensive financial experience. Other financial firms may specialize in one or a few areas, such as investment planning. It is our belief that all of your trusted advisors must know and understand what the others are doing to best prepare you for your financial future. This is why we try to involve professionals where needed in all areas of finance. That way the right arm knows what the left arm is doing because all of your trusted advisors will be “on the same page” when it comes to your planning. The services we offer are financial planning considerations such as: retirement planning strategies, personal retirement plans, IRA distribution planning, Wealth Management Strategies, and Estate Conservation Planning. The implementation of those strategies can be carried out in a variety of ways utilizing a variety of investments such as: Proprietary Money Management Programs, such as offered by Portformulas®, Unit Investment Trusts, annuities, stocks, bonds, IRA’s, etc. This comprehensive experience comes when our process appropriately coordinates with your tax, legal, and insurance services. Tax strategies are implemented through tax planning and coordinated with your tax professional’s preparation, potentially  reducing or avoiding tax on social security, and other ways to potentially minimize taxes for your retirement and estate programs. Legal Services can be referred through a licensed attorney that meets in our office and implements those services through wills, trusts, and Estate planning. Insurance services are implemented by working with the top property and casualty insurance firms in the area.

A.  Estate Planning Center has many areas of knowledge and experience … something that sets us apart from many competitors who may service only certain areas of planning. Our focus is in assisting individuals who are in retirement or getting ready to retire. One belief holds true regardless of your financial planning need. The relationship with our clients is very important to us. With that in mind, the first appointment is usually a time where we get to know each other. Through that visit we will be able to ascertain whether or not we are a good fit and can have a good working relationship. Getting to know you personally, understanding your goals and desires, will help us to be able to put together strategies that could better help you achieve those goals. We look to give comprehensive advice in our planning because our ultimate belief is that a good recommendation is one that can only be made in context of your entire financial situation. Therefore, the approach to financial planning is a comprehensive approach that looks at all areas of your financial world, leaving no stone unturned, if you will. Once that plan has been constructed, we assist in implementing those recommendations and look to monitor them on a regular basis. That process can often take several appointments and be carried out over several weeks or months.

A.  The financial advisor that you initially meet with will be your lead advisor with whom you will probably have the most contact. At times, it may be necessary, depending on your situation, to bring in another advisor with a different specialty to help you toward achieving your goals. If that need arises, your lead advisor can meet the other advisor with you. Ray Hinnant is a vital part of our firm’s service relationship with you. Think of Ray as a concierge. Outside of specific securities and insurance related transactions and services, Ray provides a great ability to help with most service questions and can get you to the right person when needed.

A.  Estate Planning Center offers a variety of ways to pay for our services from a fee paid to put together a plan, to charging the client a percentage of the assets that we manage. We also utilize various insurance products and when most appropriate, certain investments which are sold on a commission basis.  One belief holds true in this area. We are an independent financial planning firm. We do not have a captive company telling us what to recommend to our clients. We can offer numerous investment tools available in the market place, thus allowing us to more easily work toward what is in your best interest. A new client may wish to utilize a fee-only option and obtain financial products from different sources.  Providing good service and competitive results are important keys in our ability to continue to receive revenue.

A.  The amount you will pay will depend on your particular needs. Often times, as we are getting to know new clients who are unsure of whether or not they want to work with us in the future, we will charge a fully refundable flat fee to put a plan together for that client. That way, the client can “kick the tires” on us to see what recommendations we have for them and if they decide not to work with us but like the recommendations they can take the plan and implement it somewhere else while the people who have prepared that plan can be compensated for the work they have done.

A.  Estate Planning Center is an independent financial planning firm. We pride ourselves on being objective and independent, meaning that we do not have “Estate Planning Center products” or just one company’s products to recommend. We can look objectively at a large number of financial products and see which ones best fit your needs. Therefore, we only benefit long-term by keeping your business due to our service and competitive performance, along with making proper suitable recommendations.

A.  You can go to www.finra.org/Investors/ToolsCalculators/BrokerCheck/index.htm to check the background of your investment professional. Also, you can contact your state insurance department for any complaints or issues with an agent’s insurance licenses.

A.  Estate Planning Center will provide you with a written list of available planning options that details the services that will be provided before you have to make an educated decision to hire the services of our firm.

A.  No. Estate Planning Center never directly holds your money. Instead, the money is invested directly through one of several well known investment management companies or a national brokerage holding account containing your various market investments.

• A.  A comprehensive assessment of your current financial situation;
•      Assistance in helping you determine your financial needs and goals;
•      An explanation of the available financial products (bonds, mutual funds, IRAs, etc.) that are prudent for your situation.
•      Creation of a timetable for implementing the plan and helping your periodically review your progress.