Michael O’Dell CFP CEP
Michael O’Dell was already a successful business owner—serving 25 years as president of the multi-office Delco Estate Planning Services—when he tripped across an idea that has changed the way funeral trusts are managed across the country.
“Our firm assisted senior citizens with financial planning with an emphasis on full estate planning,” he explains.
“Since 93% of all seniors don’t have long-term care insurance, we provided legal assistance in protecting assets such as their homes, money, and funeral planning funds. As part of our estate planning process we sent clients to local funeral homes to pre-pay their funerals.
One day a client came back to our office after visiting the funeral home and showed us their plan. It consisted of a single-payment life policy with a funeral trust drafted by the insurance company, naming the funeral home as the beneficiary. After reviewing the trust, it seemed to me that I could write this. ”
O’Dell, a Certified Financial Planner and Certified Elder Planner, called the insurance company that offered this trust and life policy and expressed his interest in marketing the product. Since it had previously been restricted to funeral homes, they were understandably hesitant. But he persisted and eventually succeeded in convincing the company to allow him to write the funeral trust at his offices.
O’Dell’s mission has been to spread the word about this innovative product not only to his own clients, but to other financial professionals.
“Once I realized that mine was probably the only financial planning office marketing the funeral trust, I came up with the idea of marketing the funeral trust nationally to financial planners, insurance agents, and attorneys. The rest is history. My firm has become the premier marketing company nationally for the funeral trust, and we now have proprietary products with several insurance companies,” he says.
“Our firm assisted senior citizens with financial planning with an emphasis on full estate planning,” he explains.
“Since 93% of all seniors don’t have long-term care insurance, we provided legal assistance in protecting assets such as their homes, money, and funeral planning funds. As part of our estate planning process we sent clients to local funeral homes to pre-pay their funerals.
One day a client came back to our office after visiting the funeral home and showed us their plan. It consisted of a single-payment life policy with a funeral trust drafted by the insurance company, naming the funeral home as the beneficiary. After reviewing the trust, it seemed to me that I could write this. ”
O’Dell, a Certified Financial Planner and Certified Elder Planner, called the insurance company that offered this trust and life policy and expressed his interest in marketing the product. Since it had previously been restricted to funeral homes, they were understandably hesitant. But he persisted and eventually succeeded in convincing the company to allow him to write the funeral trust at his offices.
O’Dell’s mission has been to spread the word about this innovative product not only to his own clients, but to other financial professionals.
“Once I realized that mine was probably the only financial planning office marketing the funeral trust, I came up with the idea of marketing the funeral trust nationally to financial planners, insurance agents, and attorneys. The rest is history. My firm has become the premier marketing company nationally for the funeral trust, and we now have proprietary products with several insurance companies,” he says.