About

Legacy By Design

Robin Bales

Robin Bales - President, locally and nationally known in the life and health insurance industry. Working in finance from mortgage lending in the early 2000’s to starting her own business, Commonwealth Lending Group in 2007, she’s seen and survived the chaos of a global economic crash and the fall out of small businesses in hard times. She grew to recognize the demand to equip herself with more extensive knowledge of asset protection, building safeguards around her own income and other assets through creating separate entities like Estate Plans and LLCs. She enjoys helping small businesses get robust returns by implementing small changes that can take struggling operations to thriving enterprises.

Beginning her career in insurance with New York Life in 2008 she has maintained a spotless record acting in her client’s best interest as a fiduciary. 

Brian Crater

Brian Crater - Founder & CEO of Crater Financial Services, Brian brings his Advanced Planning Strategies offering to our planning department. A small town farm kid, Brian grew up knowing the value of a strong work ethic, and a firm handshake. Among many athletic gifts, Brian became an All-American in Bowling finishing his senior year nationally ranked 17th in the Class of 2011, He went on to spend time on the PBA Tour and became one of the youngest athletes to ever qualify for the US Open in 2012. His vocational and educational pursuits have led him across an array of industries including Piloting, Air Traffic Control, Legislative Consulting, and Financial Services. A student of the Tax Code, Brian has a thorough knowledge and extensive experience in deploying Tax, Insurance, and Financial strategies to maximize deductions and returns in an efficient manner that pay big dividends. His approach to financial problem solving has won him several achievement awards, and gained national recognition including 2023 National Top Broker from Insurance Business America, but what he cherishes most are the relationships he gets to build through adding value to the lives of his clients.

Versed in the complexities of ERISA and fiduciary issues inside employer sponsored plans has placed him in demand as businesses try to maneuver through the plan sponsor liabilities. This has positioned him as a respected leader in the small to midsize business retirement and exit strategy space. Brian’s insights in financial forecasting make him a key to the custom solutions our client base seeks. 

Laurie Bales

Laurie Bales, Enrollment Specialist. Laurie is pursuing her accounting degree with a certification CPA designation. She is our group enrollment specialist. Her knowledge of the compatibility of our products helps to make the process seamless for our clients. Laurie graduated Valedictorian of her high school Southwest Covenant School in 2023 and is a great asset to our team.

About

Year Established

Products

• Fixed Annuities
• 401K
• IRA

Services

• Financial Planning Services
• Tax Consulting
• Retirement & Exit Consulting
• Medicare
• Healthcare
• Retirement Prep & Social Security

Specialties

• Life Insurance
• Health Insurance
• Medicare
• Retirement Income
• Retirement Planning Advisor
• Tax Strategist
• Financial Planning
• Fixed Annuities
• Voluntary Employer Benefits