Continuing with your life, after bereavement

We understand that, during a time of great personal loss, sorting out your financial affairs is one of the toughest and most daunting tasks to undertake.

This is perhaps especially so, if you have lost a partner, who’s been responsible for managing your wealth and living expenses, your entire life. As intimidating as it may seem, to continue living as you are accustomed, it is necessary to review and re-plan your finances, to allow for your changed circumstances.

Case study: how we helped Mrs S to continue after bereavement and take financial control

A few years ago we were introduced to Mrs S by a lawyer we worked with closely. Mrs S’s husband of fifty years had recently passed away. She was in her mid-70s and, until now, her husband had managed all of their financial affairs independently.

After an initial meeting with Mrs S, she understandably felt unsure about setting concrete plans for the future. However, in the short term, she wanted to relocate to assisted living accommodation nearby. Her other requirement was that she didn’t want to sell the family house, as yet, which was valued at £690,000.

Mrs S wanted to somehow offset the cost of living in the assisted living facility with a low-risk investment strategy to feel that she was supporting herself.

Mrs S had £1.2 million in her investment portfolio and she also had her widow’s pension and state pension to supplement her income. During our initial consultation, we came to understand that Mrs S’s outgoings for her care requirements would be £60,000 per annum. That meant we needed to generate £35,000 from her portfolio, along with the £25,000 from her pension income.

We identified a low-risk investment solution, to subsidise Mrs S’s needs. This worked well for her personally, meeting her immediate needs and, in time, Mrs S also came to feel a sense of achievement at taking financial control.

We continue to have an excellent relationship with Mrs S, and keep her up to date with the performance of her portfolio. Since we have started working together we have also introduced a financial planner – generating her a cash-flow analysis and plan. In due course, Mrs S is interested in exploring IHT planning.