Return on Hassle - Estate Map
I've been looking at ROI all wrong.
When you spend the hours it takes to create your estate map, it's not an investment.
It's a hassle.
But it is much less of a hassle to pre-plan.
And there is a math formula that proves it, called Return on Hassle.
First, the inspiration came from this post on LinkedIn from Khe Hy.
In a business sense, Return on Hassle is defined as ๐๐๐ = ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐๐๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ / (๐พ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐๐ก + ๐๐๐ข๐ + ๐ฝ๐ง๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฟ๐๐ข๐๐๐ + ๐๐ฉ๐ง๐๐จ๐จ).
Basically, your return on an investment should not only include money, but also time and effort.
Looking at this from an estate administration perspective, the variables change.
ROH = Closed Estate / (Money Spent + Time + Grief + Stress)
"Closed Estate" is a constant; it is the finish line that you are aiming for that wraps up all of your loved one's tasks. Closed Estate is different for everybody, but it is fixed and doesn't change for an individual. One's estate tasks do not change after they die.
You can invert this equation and call 1/ROH = Hassle. Since "Closed Estate" is constant, just look at (Money Spent + Time + Grief + Stress). The goal is to minimize Hassle.
You can apply this to 2 people who lose a family member to see the difference. The first spent the time up front to create an estate map. The second did not.
Money Spent
There are standard costs after a death, such as probate. The biggest difference in spending will be on things that are unknown.
The first person may spend a little bit of money to get help in creating their estate map, and then a little more after a death. But these expenses are not a surprise, and there are little to no additional expenses.
The second person spends $0 before a death. However, without an estate map, something will slip through the cracks. This could be unknown subscriptions that weren't canceled, late fees, extra legal fees to track down property, lost income, and more.
Money Spent (person 1) < Money Spent (person 2)
Time
All tasks after a death take time. Institutions have their own processes, and you cannot speed these up. However, you can know what to expect and minimize delays. If you plan ahead, you'll know the right people to contact, the right questions to ask, and the right papers or forms to have.
Similar to Money Spent, the first person spent time before a death to create their estate map. Person 1 is also average when it comes to having this information previously organized, so it took around 5 hours to gather everything.
Person 2 saved time by not preparing an estate map, but this creates problems after the death. Most importantly, when they run into a question about an asset, account, property, etc., they cannot ask their loved one that passed away. They may have to seek out a lawyer, accountant, business partner, or do their own detective work. Plus, this does not even include time spent on assets that they do not know about.
Time (Person 1) << Time (Person 2)
Grief
It's clear that you will grieve after a death. This is something that you just can't prepare for. With or without an estate map, this will be the same.
Grief (Person 1) = Grief (Person 2)
Stress
Stress is exponentially greater after a death when dealing with administrative tasks. They seem unimportant, but at the same time you know they have to get done. It's difficult to know where to start. Your life just got turned upside down, and now you have to repeatedly tell strangers that your loved one passed away. Customer service is not trained on grief counseling.
Having prepared ahead of time, person 1 can start checking items off of their list. They know when to start each task, which ones are dependent on others, and who to contact in each situation. Sure, there will be surprises, but these will be minimal.
Person 2 does not know where to start. They are getting pressure from different people, have a million questions, and just want to have time to grieve. They don't want to mess anything up, but they also just want to get things over with. Plus, after a short bereavement leave, they must find time to handle these tasks and head back to their job.
Stress (Person 1) << Stress (Person 2)
Who minimized their hassle? Overwhelmingly, it was person 1.
Person 1 spent less money and much less time. They dealt with similar grief, but much less stress.
It is never easy to go through the countless tasks you need to complete after a loss. But by spending some time and effort to get organized, you can significantly reduce the hassle that you'll face. Get started by downloading your free Estate Map below. You can also book a consultation by going to the coaching page.