EVERYBODY DIES

TODAY’S BLOG

EVERYBODY DIES…

Death is an inescapable part of life. Over recent years, it has become apparent to me how important financial planning is when it comes to death. Grief is an incredibly difficult sort of sadness to grapple with. I often find when you lose someone you love, you feel as if the world should stop, as if everyone and everything should freeze but, contrary to this feeling, life goes on.

‘Money’ is possibly the last thing on your mind during those times and we hope to break down some of the financial stigmas around this; and empower men and women alike to have financial understanding and freedom.  At Solomon’s we have a strong desire for both parties in a couple to attend client meetings and encourage meaningful conversations with family members.  Knowing your desires and priorities helps us to tailor a financial plan just for you, enabling you to make the most of your life in the present; to be prepared for the worst; and to facilitate the ability to leave something behind for your loved ones, should you so wish.

Having known families who have had to pull their children out of private school because they can’t afford the fees any longer, and people having to leave their beloved family homes, I cannot express strongly enough how important insurance is.  Whilst protection policies are not something we would usually organise for you at Solomon’s, they can form a vital part of your financial plan.  We use a really good specialist firm to arrange protection policies for our clients – if this is something you need, please let us know and we will pass you on to them.

Many people have an ‘it won’t happen to me’ attitude and unfortunately that is simply just not true. These things are out of our control and so preparing for the unknown helps make transitions easier should they need to take place. It is often thought of as an expense that could be spared, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if that money spent turned out to have been ‘wasted’.  In the meantime, you have peace of mind that your family will be financially cared for in the event that the worst happens. It’s not a happy thought; but it’s an important one.

Abigail Liddicott
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on our blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to us 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

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk 
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk    Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

EVERYBODY DIES2023-12-01T12:12:46+00:00

Estates: What do I do when someone close dies?

Estates: What do I do when someone close dies?

Like most people, this is something that I have experienced personally on several occassions. Everyone says that when someone dies, “its a difficult time” – it is, but having just read a link from a follower on Twitter, clearly there are some organisations that are actually making life coping with death even harder. I’m fully aware that this is a morbid topic, invariably one that is met with humour, but of course it is deeply personal, highly sensitive and one that we all have to address.

Most of us do not get to time to organise our final farewells, but some do, this is perhaps the one of the few positives from a mortal illness or disease. However that doesn’t lessen the pain or the very real experience that “money” isn’t top of the to-do list. In fact in my experience with clients, “money” is never at the top of any “to-do” list. As you may know I like to draw connections with movies, I can only say that the WH Auden poem read at the funeral in “Four Weddngs and a Funeral” captures something of grief that few movies achieve.

Order, comfort and relief

One of the elements of service that a good financial planner brings is a sense of order to finances. Personally I favour simplicity and as people get older they tend to want less nuance, preferring something that is very easy to monitor and manage. Having your financial details available for you and your potential beneficiaries readily available is a genuine relief. Clarity of what you have, where it is and who needs to be spoken to is hugely undervalued. Just pause for a moment and ask yourself if you would value this now? who knows where all your important “stuff” is? Is it difficult even for you to remember what you have?

Reviewing your Will and ensuring that the Executors know their responsibilities (and can be helped with them) undoubtedly makes grief much less burdened by the practicalities of “the aftermath”. Its odd that only yesterday I was on a training day about Trusts – which when used properly can really help with estate planning, but naturally requires quite a lot of forward planning, but whether you need a Trust or not, the questions posed about your own death and how your estate and affairs are to be managed are applicable to most people. Whenever someone dies their estate needs “settling” which means giving an accurate account to all connected parties, including HMRC and the dreaded Probate and inheritance tax forms.

May I suggest that you read this personal article by Victoria Bischoff, a journalist at the Daily Mail who writes movingly and succinctly about the problems that she and her family faced despite her mother’s highly organised affairs. The link is here. I have been through the process personally and am aware of how what should be simple, becomes unnecessarily difficult.

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

Estates: What do I do when someone close dies?2023-12-01T12:40:11+00:00
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