Managing financial confusion following the death of a loved one

For most of us, losing a loved one is one of the most stressful times in a person’s life. As well as dealing with the grief, there is a requirement to pick up the financial pieces. One of the biggest mistakes couples make is having only one person manage the finances. If that person is not the survivor, they can be left at a loss at an already difficult time.

Having the right support to guide you can make the bewildering situation of suddenly becoming responsible for the family finances easier to manage. We specialise in advising those who've suffered a bereavement and our aim is to deliver an excellent service complemented with professionalism, empathy and understanding.

So, where to start?

Having worked your way through the immediate paperwork following a death, the first question most people have is “do I have enough money to live on?” Our expertise lies in helping widows and widowers to answer that question. Through experience, a recognised planning process and the use of excellent software, we can help you to understand just that.

The first step is to assess what your immediate needs are. This could be as basic a point as identifying what is in the bank account and for how long will that cover the normal ongoing expenditure. Ideally, this should be sufficient for, say, six months to allow you enough time to draw breath, grieve and take some time to assess what life might look like over the next year or so.

What do I need to consider next?

Having assessed that, it is also wise to consider what other “extraordinary” costs might be coming up. How will your life need to adjust going forward? Will the car need changing or will you need to move house?

Once the basic requirements are established, the next question is, what money is available? Finding all the information you need can be challenging, especially if you haven’t had any involvement in the household finances before. Is there pension income still coming in? Are there life assurance proceeds available? Are there other savings available to use if needed? A Financial Planning professional will help you to identify these sources of income and capital and then demystify the complexity of these matters and simplify them for you.

What about the long term?

The next question to consider is whether the available income and capital will be sufficient to cover the expenditure for your lifetime. As experienced Financial Planners, we are able to assess this using assumptions such as what return could you realistically expect on your investments or savings, what might inflation be over your lifetime and how long will you live for. Clearly, some of these factors are easier to assess than others!

If a deficit of income is likely, it is then necessary to consider what changes should be made to ensure a secure financial future. This could mean reducing the ongoing expenditure or seeking alternative forms of income such as drawing down on investments.

The final element to gaining understanding and clarity is to then ensure that the assets you have are still entirely suitable for you. We regularly find that clients have inherited portfolios which are no longer consistent with their risk approach, expensive to run or with no management at all.

At BFP, we consider ourselves to be your financial partner for life and we are passionate about bringing peace of mind when it’s needed most. Gaining financial confidence can help sustain you through a difficult time and working with a Financial Planning professional can help you achieve this. For more information on how we can help you to manage your affairs, please do not hesitate to get in touch.