Don’t leave behind a red tape nightmare
Key Points
Financial preparations for end of life tend to focus on a number of key areas, such as the preparation of a will and its executor.
Grieving loved ones are often left with paperwork, roadblocks and delays.
Evolving regulation and changing processes make dealing with institutions and government ever more challenging.
There is an increased risk of fraud.
Without preparation, funds may become difficult to access, creating cash flow issues.
Expert help is available to help navigate end of life financial and related issues.
Consider learning from people who have dealt with such situations. There are helpful links to examples in this article.
The passing of a spouse is one of the most traumatic events in our lives — and may overwhelm our capacity to make financial plans. It is not uncommon for funds to suddenly become more difficult to access. This situation can be eased by making preparations.
You may have made a plan - but what about the process?
Most people make some effort to organise their affairs to make things easier for their surviving spouse or heirs. They are motivated to help minimise administration and other hassles - and ensure money keeps flowing. Unfortunately, the process of getting this done is increasingly more complicated and difficult.
A huge list of things to do
Not many people realise just how connected they become over a lifetime - to government departments, via shared ownership of assets, to accounts with institutions, licences, registrations.
Many organisations, faced with increased fraud risk, stricter compliance and tougher regulations, try to make processes more efficient by using call centres, online Q and A and onerous forms.
But these processes create a nightmare for those tasked with sorting out the affairs of their departed loved ones at a time of stress and sadness.
Making the right preparations can make a big difference.
Get help sooner
The solution is to get expert help to ease, if not prevent, the pain of the process.
This means making informed choices on how your financial situation is set up, preparing for the onerous requirements around document certification and preparation, and getting an expert ready to be beside you when trying to get things done.
Some tips from those that have been surprised by the challenge
In this story as reported by ABC News, a recent widow who thought she was prepared for her husbands death, outlines some of the challenges she faced - like restarting superannuation pensions that stopped upon her husbands death, and the complex Centrelink form and process to manage her age pension. Her list of tips (at the end of the article) focus on having certified copies of all the relevant documents and sources of identification.
In this story, an actuary with a career spent working around the superannuation industry is confronted by a number of delays - most notably from incorrect setup of superannuation, roadblocks in dealing with an industry superfund, and a longer than expected delay in administration and process.
Don’t leave it too late
Preparing for the end of life can be difficult to confront. But to make things run smoothly after death, some work is best done before it.
It makes sense to see your financial advisor to discuss ways of reducing the complexity for your surviving loved ones.
When you do, make sure you are dealing with someone who is experienced and skilled in advocating for the easiest and best path for their client.
Later Life Advice is constantly reviewing the companies we recommend to our clients based on their processes and reliability. As a retirement focussed organisation, we want to know how organisations fare at this vitally important stage of life. To be frank, many are falling down when most needed.
Helpful links
It’s hard to know where to start - and made harder through grief.
It’s worth taking a look at some of the resources provided by Government to understand just how connected we become through our lives, and the number of administration tasks that are left to our survivors.
After Someone Dies is an excellent resource from the NSW Government Department of Communities and Justice.
Death and Bereavement another useful resource. It’s very good at taking you to parts of Service NSW to make notifications - even if you still have to make a trip to a Service NSW service Centre to get a result.
NSW Trustee & Guardian is the largest will maker in NSW, and offers a will making service, as well as a service to appoint Enduring Guardianship and Power of Attorney.
This service is free for full rate age pensioners.
Australian Death Notification Service
This a free government initiative to help people get in touch with multiple organisations with a single notification.
If you want to find out more about our expertise in dealing with retired Australians, please call.
Brendan
Brendan Ryan CFP
0412 181 031
Not sure what your next move should be?
Why not start with a phone call?
I am always keen to hear people’s stories and find ways to help.
Brendan Ryan CFP
All of my clients have unique situations, but they mostly want the same thing - to get good value and security from the big companies that help them manage their savings, to make sure they get all they are entitled to from the government, and to have confidence in their plans.
More than 25 years experience in finance, and a deep understanding of retirement and government puts me in a strong position to help you get confident you are doing the right thing, and organised in your approach.
Call me on 0412 181 031 or send me an email.
Brendan Ryan CFP