Hello, and welcome to the Life By Design podcast, brought to you by Strategic. Hello, and welcome back to the Life By Design podcast.

Joining me this week is Laura Powers, senior advisor and partner here at Strategic. Hello, Laura.

Hey, J. Thanks for having me.

So we're basically going to be talking about, uh, LGBTQ+ community. Mm-hmm.

And how they fit in with financial planning, uh, b- health care, insurance, all that stuff, so we're gonna cover that today. Sounds great.

Yeah. Yeah.

And so, for those of you at home, um, Laura, this is a, a community she likes to partner with, with financial planning, and, and has an extensive background on it, and so we're gonna kinda cover, you know, some of the questions, uh, you or your family at home may have a- about how to prepare financially for, you know, for your future and your family's future. Okay?

Yeah. That sounds great.

So, the first question I really wanted to ask, and, and for further reference for the podcast, we're gonna be referring to it as the community. Mm-hmm.

Um, and just, just for me so that I can- so I can say it without tripping up. Uh, but, you know, what does, what does financial security look like, uh, for, for people in the community?

I think largely financial security, like, really, like, any community, is being able to live your life comfortably, work towards your goals, and achieve those goals. That said, within the LGBTQ+ community, uh, there are nuances to that, and a hot button issue is protecting your assets and protecting your loved ones in your family.

Yeah, and we're gonna dive into some of this. There's a lot of nuance in there, right, for, for these folks, and so I want to make sure we cover some of that.

Yeah, uh, so, gosh, that goes back quite a ways. Um, I've always realized that this is a community of people, you know, largely discriminated against.

They have different social, economic, financial, um, challenges than the other folks out there. And even though having realized that for a long time, it wasn't until actually working here, and I was able to serve, um, an unmarried couple who have been together for decades, and hearing their stories, um, not necessarily even in financial planning, but just getting quotes for con- you know, contractors to come to their home.

Mm-hmm. And, um, some of those challenges were they, they really had to almost, um, present as though they were not a couple.

Mm-hmm. And, you know, I, I remember sitting there talking to them about this and just feeling like that just doesn't make sense, and that this community of people deserve to have, um, access to all of the same privileges, um, and resources that, you know, 0 other couples do.

Yeah. And so, I guess with that, when th- you know, I think when anyone really thinks about what their options are, financial plan, anything like that, right, there's always kind of myths or, like, stories that you hear, you know, through the telephone game- s- the like, a family member, and then that somehow cements in your brain as fact, but it isn't.

Mm-hmm. Sure.

I think the, I think the biggest myth is that, uh, you know, 10 years ago when Obergefell v. Hodges passed the Supreme Court in 2015 legalizing marriage equality in all 50 states, providing federal protections and privileges, I think there was a myth at that time, and it's kind of carried through, that that solved for everything, and that the playing field was suddenly equal, um, which we have found that it's not.

There, you know, there are states that are looking to walk back some of those protections. Um, and also, I think, the idea that, the idea that this community of people, you know, they don't have families, they don't build families, I think is another myth that is completely wrong.

Um, like everybody, we do build families, whatever that family structure looks like. Yeah, and, and to that point, um, for some of these states, like, what are some pending laws or policy shifts, state or federal, that s- that this community should keep an eye on right now in regards to their finances, or health, or anything like that?

Uh, health care is a big one. There are a lot of shakeups going on with that right now in terms of, you know, what certain insurance companies will cover, what certain, um, health care services employers are required or not to offer their employees.

I feel that in addition to the health care, I would say also, um, parental rights. So, you know, you, you talk about- Mm-hmm.

building a family, and that's a beautiful thing, and making sure that everyone within that family is protected, uh, from, you know, guardianship to, you know, making sure you have your health care proxies in order and you have the right people set up in your team to be able to, you know, handle whatever responsibilities you've asked of them. Yeah.

A- and so what are some, do you think, in, in your opinion, documents that are, like, absolutely non-negotiable right now- Mm-hmm. for, for this community to have, uh, and, and why?That's a really good question.

So And this go, this is across the board, um, for financial planning for any client, uh, regardless of, regardless of your personal situation, is you wanna have your estate documents in place, namely, we call it the estate plan starter kit. Mm-hmm.

Uh, you know, you have your will, power of attorney, healthcare proxy. Those are hugely important.

When you get into the LGBTQ community, in addition to having those, there's a level of specificity that is needed. So avoiding language like spouse, for example, in your will- Yeah.

and, and very directly naming that individual, um, helps avoid any, you know, any sort of, I don't know, trying to misinterpret the wishes- Mm-hmm. put within that document.

Um, so specificity is, is absolutely necessary. In addition to that, hospital visitation, uh, forms, HIPAA releases.

There's just a little extra work that should go into, into these documents for the community because you The reality is we just don't know who we're gonna face when, you know- Mm-hmm. we go into a hospital, um, or we go into a school.

And we wanna make sure that families are structured to be able to live their life authentically and, and be protected along the way. And this is kind of planning around a chosen family when some state laws default to blood relatives, right?

Could be. It could also be that if you're in a certain situation where, um, yes, if you're not, say you're not married, but that's by all, you know, for all intents and purposes, that's your life partner, right?

Um, you wanna make sure that they're in a position where they can provide for you, they can keep you safe addit- And if you think about even, um, even couples, same-sex couples who are married, if they choose to build a family, if you think about, mm, surrogacy, what if only one of those partners is biologically attached to that child? Mm-hmm.

Well, we wanna make sure that the other parent is also, you know, involved with that child and protected to be so. And you have, you know, similar things where if someone does IVF, it's a kind of a similar situation.

Yeah, and I think you touched on a little bit, but like s- are there other like hurdles with the community that they would still face with life, disability, long-term care sort of things? Mm-hmm.

Uh, especially with life insurance, you wanna make sure there are special, there are special nuances with healthcare needs as well- Mm-hmm. uh, for the LGBTQ community.

You wanna make sure that you have your beneficiary set up properly on that contract. If you don't, you know, you may want that to go to your life partner, but the reality is, if you don't have that on your beneficiary form for that policy, next of kin could apply, and the state you're in may not recognize your partner as that next of kin.

So I guess one question I, I wanted to ask you, and we'll kind of wrap this episode, we're gonna have more with Laura, but this episode, uh, in particular is, for you, how do you measure how you're serving this community versus, you know, we're not, not just marketing to them? I love, I love that question.

There has been a lot of chatter in recent years about corporations, you know, putting a rainbow, a rainbow logo out there for the month of June and calling it a day. Um, for, for me, I love working with a team that when we say we wanna help people live a great life, we mean all people.

Mm-hmm. And I think that's a beautiful thing.

And you know, when you're looking at impact on that community versus just marketing to an audience, it's a very different thing. And f- for me personally, when I can connect with a client or with clients and they can feel safe, they know they've been heard, and they really can be their full selves with me, that to me is a tremendous, tremendous marker of success with them.

Um, a lot of people, and even just, just socially, not necessarily within my, you know, my profession, but socially, I will, um, I'll see people that I'll meet them for the first time and, and maybe they're, you know, like we all can be, you know, be very guarded. my profession but socially I will I'll see people that I'll meet them for the first time and maybe they're, you know, like we all can be, we can't be very guarded.

But over time, once they feel, you know, that they're safe, they open up, they become more themselves. When partnering as a financial advisor for people, Um, but over time, once they feel, you know, that they're safe, they open up, they become more themselves, when partnering as a financial advisor for people- Mm-hmm.

take that and multiply it by, you know, a million, it's th- it's incredible. And to be able to ask them very personal questions and tailor a financial plan that meets their needs, whether it's creating a spending plan, we've talked a lot about the estate planning importance there.

What's the ownership of their assets? How do they want to be protected from a long-term care perspective?

There's so many things that while it transcends the world of financial planning, there are nuances and specialties that need to be addressed, and sometimes it's an uncomfortable conversation for people to have. But once, again, once I can let them know- Mm-hmm.

and really get that trust built up and we start creating these dynamic personalized plans, it's just, and just, and to have them come back and say, Wow, You walked me through this and my life is better for it, i- i- that to me is how I measure success. I love it.

So to leave us off, where can listeners, uh, find some help or resources if they're starting from scratch- Mm-hmm. uh, for this community?

Yeah. as a lot of people out there know if you're listening, you know, we never turn down a conversation.

And if it's not the right time for a partnership, you know darn well we're gonna give you some really good guidance going forward. Mm-hmm.

Um, that said, if you're not up for a phone call, you can always go to the Human Rights Campaign website, HRC. Uh, they have a lot of really great information, everything from healthcare to legal assistance to s- creating a very basic financial plan.

It's pretty, it's pretty great. That's great.

Yeah. Thank you, Jay.

Appreciate your time. This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only.

Please see the full disclosure in our show notes for more information.