Hello from Vancouver. I’m here covering MDRT all week and will be posting updates on our website, Twitter page and at our LinkedIn group. So, please keep checking back for updates. If you’re here in Vancouver, send me an e-mail at [email protected] if you want to catch up in person.
So, on to why you read this blog–to pick up some great tips to help your practice. Well, I’ve got a doozy for you today. Yesterday I had the opportunity to hear 40-plus-year industry veteran Daniel O. Corrigan talk about the sales concepts that have led him to being a top producer.
The following eight steps are part of a technique that Corrigan has developed specifically to appeal to a prospect “who has indicated a concern for a spouse and the quality of life that special person will live with after the prospect is gone.”
For the sake of the case study, Corrigan says to assume that the prospect is a husband who indicates a concern for his wife. Following are the eight steps Corrigan proposes.
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Step No. 1: Introduce the First Bucket
Mr. Prospect, let’s suppose that you became part of the grill on a Mack truck last night. Today we’re putting your estate plan into action. That would require us to divide your assets between two important buckets. We’ll start with the bucket that is obviously the first bucket. The number tells us so.
Step No. 2: Public Bucket
This bucket is called the Public Bucket because it is known to the public. Certain members of the public are very interested in the contents of the bucket. The major portion of your estate will end up in Bucket No. 1. That’s because most of your assets will be controlled by you at death and, as such, will be included in your estate for transfer purposes.
Step No. 3: The Line at the Public Bucket
I mentioned that a lot of people will be interested in the assets going into the Public Bucket. Here are some examples of the people that we expect to show an interest. They’ll line up by the bucket and eventually take assets from it. I can’t tell you how long the line will be at your Public Bucket, but I can tell you who will be last in line. It will be the woman you’re walking through life with. That person must wait for the entire line to be satisfied before she can take anything from the bucket.
Note: Current U.S. law provides for an unlimited marital deduction. You should know about it. Simply put, it allows for a delay in paying the estate tax until a second death. That, of course, would remove the estate tax people from the line on the initial death. The line would still be plenty long, right?