A matter of life and death
It is one of the strangest aspects of conversations that I have with clients. It gets stranger and perhaps more difficult the older they become. We have to talk about a matter of life and death.
In essence, when all is said and done, financial planning is about trying to ensure that your money does not run out before you die. So we need to have a conversation about when that might be. We don’t know the answer. Death is a daily part of life, yet something that most of us manage to avoid talking about.
The motivation behind the question is obviously to attempt to make money last long enough, however it is also designed to prompt thoughts about what is life about, what do you want from it during this brief sojourn on this wonderful planet?
Thoughts may turn too quickly to estate planning and reducing inheritance tax, rather than considering the true inheritance that is being left…. the memory and impact of .. well…you!
I might (will) point to the financial impact of your loss to those dependant upon you, be they family or your business, but we all know that its much bigger and deeper than that don’t we. So good financial planning can take care of financial loss, but great financial planning will hopefully remind and inspire you to ensure that you make the most of the life you have now.
Another way to view death – acceptance
A dear friend of mine, who has had more than her fair share of grief drew my attention to this short video about death (and life). It combines images from various films and words of Alan Watts. It is worth taking the 3 minutes to watch it.
Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA
You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk