THE SCENARIO
Living life to the full and estate planning
Margaret and Jim are in their late sixties and are living life to the full. On retirement, they purchased a camper van and spend as much time travelling in the UK as well as Europe. They are both keen activists and support a number of environmental causes. They want to keep active as long as they can. They have four children, two each from a previous marriage, and all are grown up with families of their own. They have assets of around £1m.
Their goals:
Margaret and Jim want to keep making memories for as long as possible and want to ensure that their current lifestyle can be maintained. They also want to ensure that, should they suffer any ill-health, they have sufficient resources to be able to afford any care costs. They also want to help their grandchildren with school fees and ensure that on their death the children are treated equally. They were keen that their investments were managed responsibly.
How we can help?
We worked with Margaret and Jim to create a detailed cash flow forecast and we modelled a number of scenarios within the financial plan that looked at the potential costs of long-term care. This reassured both Margaret and Jim that they had sufficient capital should either one or both of them require long term care. We then identified surplus income that could be used to help with their grandchildren’s school fees. We invested their assets in line with our responsible investment strategy applying ESG principles. We then worked with a local Solicitor to review Margaret and Jim’s Wills, Lasting Power of Attorney and the creation of a Discretionary Trust with the children as beneficiaries to ensure that the children would be treated equally on their deaths.
Ongoing support
We will continue to review Margaret and Jim’s financial plan making any changes should their circumstances change. We will also review their investment portfolio ensuring that it is performing in line with our expectations and also making sure that it is invested as tax efficiently as possible and that their income levels can be maintained.
Disclaimer – this is a hypothetical client example and does not constitute a formal recommendation.