Financial Case Study: Walter Williams and Henry Brooks
Walter Williams
- 65 years old.
- Excellent health.
- Has a son who is 46 years old.
Henry Brooks
- 63 years old.
- Excellent health.
Walter Williams and Henry Brooks
- Have lived together for 27 years, are domestic partners, have owned a business together for 20 years, and are now planning to sell their business and formally retire. Negotiations for the sale of the business are almost concluded, pending resolution of a number of questions Walter raised regarding installment payments for the business as well as a request from the proposed owner that Henry continue to provide consulting services.
- Walter and Henry each have simple wills leaving all their assets and property to each other.
Economic Environment
- The current economic environment exhibits low real short-term rates, high real long-term rates, little economic growth, and high unemployment in their area.
Client Objectives
- Maintain current lifestyle, including frequent travel.
- Revise estate plan to minimize taxes, take advantage of opportunities in various elections available in the Internal Revenue Code, and maximize amounts passing to Walter’s son.
- Review investment portfolio and make changes as necessary to reflect different priorities and risk tolerance levels during retirement. Initial indications are that the clients are willing to take normal investment risks, desirous of adequate current income, reasonable safety of principal, inflation protection, tax advantage, and some modest long-term appreciation, in that order of priority.
- Review and revise total risk management and insurance situation as necessary to provide adequate protection and eliminate gaps and overlaps.
- Determine the most advantageous method of taking distributions from the 401(k) accounts.

