Compromising with clients isn't just limited to investment decisions. Mary H. Durie, a financial advisor with Quest Capital Management, a Raymond James affiliate in Dallas, says the mistake that "keeps me up at night" happened several years ago. Durie was working with a female physician, who at the time was in her thirties. As part of the woman's overall financial plan, Durie strongly suggested life insurance with cash value, partly as a tax-deferred savings vehicle. The physician, however, resisted the idea. Because the client was single without any children at the time, Durie didn't press the issue.
Three years later, the woman got married, and she and her husband adopted a child. The woman was the family's primary breadwinner, and she finally did agree to limited life insurance coverage.
Recently, the woman was diagnosed with cancer, but there is some question about how much the family can expect from her life insurance policy because it was signed only six months before the diagnosis.
The situation has Durie reliving her initial planning decisions with the client several years ago. "Knowing that she wanted to get married and have children when she was younger and healthier, I should have forced the issue of buying the coverage," she says. "I should have made it more of an issue."