Personal arrangements in good order
“Seven and a half years ago, I got married for the second time. That was like an official stamp for our new, larger family. It got me thinking: what exactly happens if someone passes away, for example? How does that work?”
That was the starting signal for an alliance with Tabitha Rozeboom Bos, one of Hoek en Blok’s financial planners. Chris Braanker asked her to draw up a Personal-In-Sight plan. That involves identifying life goals, and then making the associated financial plan, taking matters such as pension and assets into account. Braanker: “With my wife Wilma and Tabitha, we went through everything. It felt more like we were talking to a friend. But precisely because a third party was present, the discussion is better and more to the point than if you are just talking about things with your wife.”
We covered everything: from the income required to the prenuptial agreement, and from the options for the company and possibly working less to the will. “Obviously, you can’t make arrangements for everything in that area because it’s a delicate subject but everything is sorted out in line with the law. Even so, you can’t do everything exactly as you would like: we both have former partners.”
“It felt really good once things were sorted out. And reassuring. It still does. And it’s good to know there’s someone who knows how everything is arranged and how we want it to be. Of course, we could both pass on but then the children have somebody to go to with their questions.”
Ongoing
Every year, Wilma and I still have a meeting with Tabitha to go through everything in a couple of hours and make updates if necessary. This shouldn’t be a one-off operation: things change and, before you know it, all your arrangements are outdated. So it’s an ongoing process and those discussions force you to think things over every time. But it always feels good in the end.”