Last week on the blog, we published an article on important mindsets to take into the estate planning process. MPower Co also announced our newest online course Written Wishes! MPower Co is so excited to begin offering this course soon, and want to give you as much information as we can.
So, this week, here is an article introducing you to Mark Satterfield, the course author of Written Wishes. Mark is not new to MPower Co as he has done a lot behind the scenes; however, this is the first course he has written for MPower Co. Mark is a CPA by trade, and is the Vice President of Internal Audit for a publicly traded company. In his spare time he is an Adjunct Accounting Professor. Mark is husband to Lea, MPower Co’s CEO. Together they share two daughters, an interest in cooking and home renovation.
Lea asked Mark a few questions hoping that his answers will help you get to know him a little better. So, without further ado, here are five questions with course author Mark:
1. What are three things you want others to know about you?
While I am a CPA, and probably could be characterized as a nerdy accountant, I also have a bachelor’s degree in German. I spent several years studying the language, history and culture of Germanic speaking people. I have practiced the language through working abroad and also on occasion read children’s books in German to my two daughters.
I love to travel. Through my career and personal travel, I have visited over 30 countries and 25 states. While I hate choosing one favorite trip, one of my personal favorite trips was the hike to Machu Picchu that [Lea] and I did in 2014.
I also love to cook. Nora, our oldest daughter, is usually my sous chef, which makes [Lea] the assistant to the sous chef. One of my favorite traditions is that Nora and I make birthday cakes from scratch for each birthday in our family. Nora’s birthday is coming up and she has requested a “mermaid themed” cake; however, making a toilet-paper cake for Dr. Thia’s birthday during quarantine last year may be hard for me to top.
2. Why is Written Wishes important to you?
In my career, I spent a lot of time traveling all over the world. I always had this little voice in the back of my head saying: “you need to make sure you have your final wishes written down and beneficiaries in order in case something happens to you.” But I never got around to doing it.
I got married and had a baby and that voice got a little louder. Lea and I did get some components in order, but we still didn’t have a complete plan. I feel like that is probably relatable for a lot of people.
When the pandemic hit, I finally had the motivation to take action and see the process through to completion. Seeing my peers lose their spouses hit home that I wasn’t invincible.
We dedicated the evenings of two weeks and put together a binder with our critical information and the appropriate legal documents, with the appropriate signatures.
Through my experience of putting an estate plan together, I realized that it wasn’t all that complicated. I felt like it was important to share my knowledge and experience with others. As the course author it is my goal to help others achieve the all-important goal of having an estate plan in place. My hope is that Written Wishes will give people a road map for taking action on putting together an estate plan.
3. How would you describe your teaching style for the course?
My teaching style for the course is to give you the information you need to get the work done and to provide resources so that the estate planning process goes as smoothly as it can. You will be hands on in the course.
Written Wishes is a combination of written narrative and video examples that are meant to be both informative on estate planning topics, but also a step-by-step process to getting an estate plan in place.
I wanted to provide something substantive to help drive success, hence the binder. With Written Wishes you will receive a binder included with the course. It serves two purposes. 1. to give you something physical as a reminder to put together an estate plan and 1. as a vehicle to package all of the documents you will prepare during the course.
4. What is your favorite piece of advice you’ve received?
Knowledge is power. I’m not sure who I heard the saying from first, but it is a theme that has echoed throughout my life. Striving for knowledge and understanding is a strength of mine, and I hope to pass knowledge on through being the course author for Written Wishes.
5. Who have been your mentors?
Being consistent with my favorite piece of advice, I would have to say people that have taken time to teach me something. There have been several important educators that have shaped my decisions and view of the world. I have always held a high regard for anyone who is willing to teach me something.
Join the Waitlist for Written Wishes!!
MPower Co is excited for the upcoming launch of Written Wishes. This is a new offering for MPower Co and is the ultimate estate planning checklist. This four unit course will walk you through the process of creating estate planning documents using free resources, work you through creating a financial overview so that heirs don’t have a guessing game, and will give you a binder to collect all of the information and records generated throughout the course.
It is a turn-key estate planning experience that will walk you through the process of establishing and documenting your wishes. It is estate planning made easy. If you are ready to put your estate planning into motion and put your wishes into writing click here to join the course waitlist to be in the know as more information is released on the course!
Another Estate Planning Checklist Post That May Be of Interest
This isn’t MPower Co’s only post about estate planning! If you found this article helpful and want to keep reading on the topic of estate planning, head over to our article “11 Items to Include in an Estate Planning Binder.” It goes into the more practical estate planning checklist items like wills, powers of attorney, and much, much more.
