This month I thought I would share a difficult story with you.
Some time ago I received a call from one of my favorite long-term clients (John & Mary for privacy purposes). John had had a stroke and was in intensive care. They found an aggressive brain tumor and sadly he passed away 2 weeks later.
It was tough news to hear but nothing compared to the conversation I had with John the day before he died. But before I tell you about that let me give you some background.
Any financial adviser worth their salt knows that if you want a solid financial plan for your family, its important your estate planning is up to date. Things like Wills, Powers of Attorney, superannuation nominations, life insurance, advance health directives and they need to be done properly.
Over the 20 years I was giving financial advice most new clients didn’t have their estate planning up to date. The most common reason they gave me was that they had tried a couple of times and it all just got too hard, and they just never got around to finishing it off.
John and Mary were no different. For years Mary had tried to get John to the table to sort it all out as she knew the mess she and the kids would be in if something happened to John. John was a lovely bloke but a tough adversary especially when it came to getting him to do something he didn’t really want to do. ‘I’d rather go fencing all week in 40oC heat than talk with the lawyer or accountant for 5 more minutes” I heard him say.
Like a cantankerous old bull, there was a lot of head shaking, stomping, snorting, and running off with his head in the air but with care and sheer tenacity we got John to the table with the team.
It was tough working out the complexities. The legal issues, tax, succession, and the always present family dynamics. Nevertheless, we corralled their Lawyer and Accountant and we all worked together to wrestle the job to the ground and got it all signed off.
When we got the final documents signed, Mary was relieved, but I could tell John still felt it was a waste of time and effort because he wasn’t going to die anytime soon.
It wasn’t until we had the conversation the day before John that it all changed. With tears in both our eyes I was able to say “John, mate, we did the hard work. Mary and the kids are going to be ok”. You could hear the relief in John’s voice and I like to think it gave him just a little bit of peace before he passed away.
After Johns passing, the insurance did pay out, sorting out the Will ran far more smoothly that it should have and Mary was emotionally suffering but financially she was ok.
Having been through the estate planning process again myself when my daughter Sophie was born, I know how tough and emotionally taxing it is, but as a father it is something I didn’t want to leave undone.
Enjoy your month and for now, I’m the Financial Bloke and I’m all about turning your Farming Success into Financial Freedom.
Cheers,
