At-a-Glance
Ages: Claire (51)
Top Priorities:
Securing long-term financial independence as a single woman
Planning for future healthcare needs
Aligning investments with social and environmental values
Key Financial Goals:
Building a personalized, socially responsible financial plan
Aligning retirement, healthcare and estate planning with her independent lifestyle
Where They Are Now: Claire has a secure financial plan that reflects her values and supports her independent future.
Overview
Claire Johnson, a successful advertising executive with a passion for travel, has always valued her independence. Single and without children, she often spent her free time traveling to visit friends scattered throughout the country, combining her love of exploration with maintaining meaningful relationships.
Claire was focused on building a secure financial future that aligned with her personal goals and values. As she approached her early 50s, she started thinking more seriously about her long-term financial security, planning for potential healthcare needs, and aligning her investments with her passion for environmental issues and socially responsible causes.
For over a decade, Claire had worked with a financial advisor, but recently began seeking a financial planning practice that could better relate to her specific situation and provide a more personalized approach. She was particularly interested in finding a team with women in leadership who could offer perspective that resonated with her life experiences.
Challenges and HT|TC Solutions
Tailored Financial Planning with a Focus on Understanding and Relatability
As Claire entered her 50s, she realized her financial needs had evolved and required a more customized, relatable approach.
While she had managed her finances with the help of an advisor for several years, she sought out HT|TC for their ability to provide a plan that truly reflected her personal circumstances — no dependents, a deep love for travel, and a commitment to supporting environmental causes.
HT|TC’s diverse, experienced wealth management team — which includes strong women leaders and advisors — carefully considered Claire’s values, goals, and concerns. They conducted a comprehensive review of her financial situation and worked closely with her to refine her investment strategy, incorporating socially responsible investments that aligned with her environmental values and risk tolerance.
This approach gave Claire confidence that her financial plan was both effective and deeply connected to what she cared about most.
Healthcare and Long-Term Care Planning
Claire’s independent lifestyle required careful planning for potential future healthcare needs. Knowing she wouldn’t have immediate family to rely on, she wanted to be fully prepared for any situation.
HT|TC's wealth management team helped Claire select an insurance policy with long-term care options and ran financial planning scenarios for various arrangements, such as aging in place or someday moving to a retirement community with various levels of care.
HT|TC's estate and trust services team advised her to set up an advanced healthcare directive that would allow her to designate a trusted friend as her healthcare proxy, giving Claire medical preferences would be honored.
Estate Planning and Legacy
Without children of her own, Claire was determined to direct her estate toward the causes she strongly supported. Passionate about environmental conservation, Claire wanted her legacy to benefit the organizations that aligned with her values.
In addition, Claire wanted to recognize her role as a trusted aunt and mentor to her nieces and nephews, including them in her estate plan with meaningful gifts and messages. HT|TC assisted Claire in drafting personal letters to her chosen beneficiaries, explaining her decisions and sharing her hopes for the impact of her legacy.
In coordination with her attorney, HT|TC guided her in in setting up a trust that directed a portion of her assets to environmental conservation efforts, including her favorite national park preservation organization and a nonprofit dedicated to combating climate change. Claire chose to name HT|TC’s in-house trust company as successor trustee, helping ensure that her assets were handled with care and that her philanthropic and family-oriented goals would be fulfilled according to her wishes.
Investment and Retirement Strategy
Claire’s successful career afforded her the ability to pursue her passions, particularly traveling to new places and visiting friends across the country. She needed a retirement strategy that would provide her with the flexibility to continue traveling, volunteering for environmental causes, and enjoying her independence.
HT|TC developed a retirement plan with Claire’s vision in mind, optimizing her investment portfolio for growth while managing risk and incorporating socially responsible investments that reflected her values. By aligning her investments with her long-term goals, HT|TC helped Claire build a solid foundation for a fulfilling retirement, filled with the experiences and contributions she valued most.
Outcome
Claire successfully achieved the financial security she was seeking to maintain her independent lifestyle through retirement and beyond.
Supported by a team that values her perspective and needs, with personalized and carefully crafted financial and estate plans in place, she felt confident in pursuing her goals and living life on her own terms.
The comprehensive financial planning provided by the HT|TC team equipped Claire to face the future with assurance and ease. She can now focus on enjoying her career and travels, nurturing her relationships, and making a meaningful impact on the causes and people she values most.
* Although this story is representative of the work HT|TC does to support the clients we serve, all individuals are fictional and do not represent actual clients.
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