ABOUT DAVID HUDSON
More Than Forty Years of Experience. One Continuing Desire to Help Others.
David Hudson, CEP®, is an author, Certified Estate Planner®, and retirement consultant committed to making retirement and estate planning easier to understand while helping older adults recognize the value of their experience, wisdom, and influence.
A LIFETIME OF SERVICE
A Career Built Around Service
David Hudson entered the financial-services industry in 1985 as an insurance agent serving primarily senior citizens. What began as a career soon became a lifelong opportunity to help people prepare for decisions that could affect their families for generations.
In the early 1990s, David served as a moderator for several Life Underwriters Training Council® courses offered through The American College. Later that decade, he attended an estate-planning workshop outside St. Louis, Missouri, that changed the direction of his work.
During that workshop, David saw more clearly how missing estate documents, poor preparation, and a lack of communication could create devastating consequences for families. He left determined to help his clients understand that retirement planning and estate planning should work together.
To deepen his knowledge, David completed additional studies through the National Institute of Certified Estate Planners and earned the Certified Estate Planner® designation in 2002. He later qualified as a Registered Financial Consultant® through the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants. Although he no longer maintains or uses the RFC designation, that experience remains part of his professional history.
For more than two decades, David and his company have worked alongside attorneys to help people approaching retirement better understand the estate-planning process and prepare for the future.
“The main goal of business and the main goal of the gospel is service.”
EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS
The Work Behind the Perspective
A clear path from financial services to writing, teaching, and helping families prepare with confidence.
1985
Entered the financial-services industry, initially serving senior citizens as an insurance agent.
Early 1990s
Served as a moderator for Life Underwriters Training Council® courses offered through The American College.
Late 1990s
Attended an estate-planning workshop that reshaped his approach to retirement and family planning.
2002
Earned the Certified Estate Planner® designation through the National Institute of Certified Estate Planners.
2011
Published his first book, Compassionate Estate Planning: The Art of Eliminating Family Discord and Passing Values Forward.
Today
Continues serving as an author, consultant, educator, and advocate for retirees and older adults.
EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS
Turning Experience Into Clear, Practical Guidance
After decades of working with people preparing for retirement, David recognized a consistent problem. Important subjects were often presented in language that ordinary people found difficult to understand.
Retirement and estate planning can appear complicated, but the consequences of avoiding them are very real. David began writing to explain these subjects in a caring, understandable way and help readers take practical steps before a crisis forces decisions upon them.
“Life is a gift from God, and so is wisdom. Neither one should be squandered.”
A LIFETIME OF PERSPECTIVE
Your Best Days Do Not Have to Be Behind You
David believes older adults have been encouraged to step aside when their families, churches, communities, and country still need their wisdom.
A lifetime of experience cannot be replaced by information alone. People who have endured difficult seasons, learned from failure, remained faithful, and survived well have something valuable to offer the next generation.
David wants retirees to prepare wisely, protect what matters, and remain active in the lives of others. His books are part of a larger purpose: helping older adults recognize that their experience still matters and that they can continue making a difference.
FAITH AND SERVICE
Faith That Is Lived, Not Used
Jesus Christ has been the greatest influence in David's life. He came to faith more than fifty years ago, and the study of Scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit continue to shape the way he lives, serves, and approaches his work.
David believes every Christian is called to full-time ministry, regardless of profession. For him, that means treating people with honesty, compassion, and genuine care.
He does not believe faith should ever be used as a marketing strategy. In financial services, he has seen people speak openly about Christianity while failing to serve others with integrity. David would rather people recognize his faith through the way he treats them, cares for their families, and follows through on his commitments.
David and his wife, Teri, remain active in their local church. He also teaches a Bible study class every Sunday morning, an opportunity for which he is deeply grateful.
“And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”
DAVID AND TERI
BETTER TOGETHER
David describes his wife, Teri, as his teammate and helpmate. Where one is weak, the other is strong, and together they have built a life centered on faith, service, family, and helping others.
Teri has remained an important part of David's personal life and professional journey. Their partnership continues to shape the way he thinks about marriage, family, stewardship, and the legacy people leave behind.
A SHARED LIFE
Faith, family, service, and stewardship are not separate ideas. They are the daily practices that make a lasting partnership.
LESSONS FROM THE BASKETBALL COURT
STRONG FUNDAMENTALS CHANGE EVERYTHING
Because David was self-employed, he had the opportunity to coach basketball for seven years at the small Christian school his children attended. During those seven years, his teams won two state championships and never finished lower than fourth in the state tournament.
They were rarely the most talented team, but they worked hard on the fundamentals.
That experience taught David an important lesson: talent can be overcome when the fundamentals are strong enough. You cannot control every circumstance or guarantee every outcome, but you can prepare well, remain disciplined, and take responsibility for what is within your control.
That same principle became part of the foundation for The Forty-Year Guide to a Less Stressful Retirement. Retirement planning is not built on shortcuts or predictions. It begins by understanding and applying the fundamentals.
“You control what you can. You remain grateful for the opportunity. Then you move forward.”
LESSONS FROM THE BASKETBALL COURT
Helping People Choose What Is Best for Them
One definition of leadership has remained with David throughout his life:
“A great leader is someone who can help those they lead do what is best for them because they want to do it.”
David believes leadership should never be built on manipulation or selfish ambition. The goal should always be to make the people being served stronger, wiser, and better prepared.
That principle guides his writing. David does not want to frighten people into taking action. He wants to give them understandable information, help them recognize what is at stake, and motivate them to make wise decisions for themselves and their families.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Work Continues
David continues to serve as a consultant while developing the author, teaching, and ministry side of his work. As he moves toward full retirement from business, he plans to devote more time to writing, church seminars, counseling, and speaking engagements through Entrusted Stewardship.
His vision is to help retirees and those approaching retirement prepare wisely, live purposefully, and use their remaining years to strengthen the generations coming behind them.