Hard work, integrity, and service are the principles that have guided Kerry Morris CFP®, founder of Assurance Financial Partners, throughout his career in financial services.
While financial planning is often associated with numbers and investments, Kerry believes the most important work he does goes far beyond financial products or portfolio performance. His mission has always been to help families ensure that the lives they want to live in retirement can actually happen — even when life introduces unexpected challenges along the way.
For more than twenty-five years, Kerry has worked with individuals and couples approaching retirement to help them create financial strategies designed to support both their lifestyle goals and their long-term security. Through Assurance Financial Partners, Kerry and his partner Tim Henderson focus on coordinating retirement income planning, tax strategy, protection planning, and long-term care considerations into a comprehensive financial plan.
The goal is simple: to help families retire with confidence, knowing their income and nest egg are positioned to support them regardless of what the journey might bring.
Kerry graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Administration and Management, with a minor in psychology. After several years in sales and management roles, he entered the insurance business in 1997, choosing to remain independent so he could maintain control of his schedule and priorities while serving clients.
In 2008, Kerry passed the Series 65 Investment Advisor exam, expanding his ability to provide comprehensive planning services. That same year, Assurance Financial Partners became a member of the Better Business Bureau, where Kerry later served on the local advisory board, helping strengthen ethical standards and bring value to businesses and consumers in the community.
In 2009, Kerry completed the rigorous requirements to earn the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation from the CFP Board of Standards. The CFP certification is widely regarded as the premier credential in financial planning and reflects formal expertise in areas including retirement planning, taxes, insurance, estate planning, and investment management.
Kerry also joined the Financial Planning Association and later served on the board of his local chapter as Programs Chair, helping organize educational events and bringing nationally recognized speakers to train financial planners in the region.
During that same period, Kerry helped establish the Estate and Elder Planning Center, a sister organization created to formalize the volunteer work he had already been doing with wartime veterans and families referred by healthcare professionals and the care community throughout the Nashville area.
Between 2009 and 2012, Kerry personally met with more than 700 families, helping them navigate difficult financial decisions related to aging and long-term care. Working with a team of professionals, they helped unlock millions of dollars in Veterans Affairs benefits that allowed wartime veterans and widows to afford home health care, assisted living, and nursing-home care.
The experience of helping families both enter retirement and later navigate long-term care challenges profoundly shaped Kerry’s approach to financial planning.
In 2022, Kerry released his first book:
When Retirement Goes Bad, Life Sucks: The Hidden Defect in Your Retirement Portfolio that Everyone Wants to Ignore.
The book explores risks in retirement planning that many families overlook, particularly the financial impact of longevity and long-term care needs.
Author and Educator
Kerry has also focused on helping families better understand the financial challenges that can arise when health events affect a loved one later in life.
In addition to his first book, he is also the author of Financial Survival for Families in the Midst of Dementia, a practical guide designed to help families navigate the financial and planning decisions that often arise when dementia enters the picture.
Drawing on years of experience working with families facing aging and long-term care challenges, the book provides guidance on organizing finances, coordinating care decisions, and protecting family resources during difficult seasons.
Together, Kerry’s books reflect his broader mission to help families prepare not only for retirement, but also for the financial realities that can arise during the later stages of life.
Also in 2022, Kerry launched HonorShield LLC, expanding his mission to help families prepare for the financial realities of aging. HonorShield focuses on helping families integrate Longevity Care Allocation Planning (LCAP) into their financial strategy so they can maintain independence, relationships, and lifestyle even if long-term care becomes necessary later in life.
After decades of working with retirees and aging families, Kerry believes that a fulfilling life is supported by three core elements:
health, relationships, and money.
As he often says:
“One of the most important things I’ve learned in my 25 years in the business is that a great life is supported by three areas, Health, Relationships, and Money. My job is to make sure that a family’s money is working effectively to accomplish that job.”
-Kerry Morris CFP®
God, family, clients, and country.
That is the order of importance that guides how Kerry Morris lives his life.
Kerry’s faith in God and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ has played a central role in shaping both his personal life and his perspective on service. Early in adulthood he spent a year studying at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, initially preparing for ministry before realizing that his calling would take a different path — helping families through financial planning.
Beginning in 1988, Kerry also devoted several years to volunteer prison ministry, serving in correctional facilities ranging from county jails to maximum-security prisons. His goal was to bring hope and encouragement to individuals who were often struggling through the most difficult seasons of their lives.
Kerry also served his country through the Tennessee National Guard and Army Reserve from 1986 to 1996, where he received leadership training and held leadership positions early in his service.
Music and sports have always been part of Kerry’s life as well. He began playing drums at the age of ten, later performing with a band called Teen Country and playing with his church band for several years. He still enjoys sitting down at his drum kit whenever he finds the time.
He also has a lifelong love of baseball, having played and coached during his high school years.
On New Year’s Eve in 2000, Kerry met the woman who would become the love of his life at a swing dance celebration. He and his wife Jill married shortly afterward and spent several years traveling the country together, competing and teaching dance and even appearing in a country music video.
Today they live with their children in what Kerry jokingly refers to as the “Morris Nut House,” a lively household where faith, family, and laughter are central parts of daily life.
Kerry and Jill recently celebrated more than twenty years of marriage, inspired by Kerry’s parents, who celebrated nearly seven decades together.
Over the years Kerry has also served as an elder and teacher at his church, and in 2017 he became an approved presenter for the National Center of Biblical Parenting, sharing insights about raising strong families and helping parents develop healthy habits and leadership in the home.
Through Assurance Financial Partners, Kerry and his team have also supported a number of charitable organizations, including:
• Rescue 1 Global
• Freedom’s Promise
• One Generation Away
• BBB Integrity Foundation
• Benchmark Adventure Ministries
For Kerry, financial planning has always been about more than money. It is about helping families live meaningful lives while preparing wisely for the future.
As he often reflects:
“Faith, Family, and my service to clients are where I spend my time. I hope to make a difference in this world and most days, I feel like I’m just getting started.”
-Kerry Morris CFP®