By Rachel O’Connor, Director, Flourix Wealth.
Tragedy strikes at any stage of life, as we’re building our family, our home, our financial security.
On my website I say: “Many of us have a picture of what our ideal life would look like. A comfortable life, where we have the means to do whatever we want to, without worrying about money being a limiting factor.”
And I then share the ways that Flourix Wealth can help you achieve your financial goals. See https://flourix.com.au/build-ideal-life/
That tragedy can happen when a beloved partner is in their prime and our children are young, or when we are older. At any stage when tragedy strikes this is devastating.
Understandably, many of us delay our financial organisation and our estate planning until we’ve faced the more immediate hurdles in front of us – securing a mortgage, paying school fees, starting a new job or a new business. But we need to think about these deeper foundations. This doesn’t mean over preparing or becoming anxious.
In fact, if we develop a few simple strategies early in life, these can guide us to greater financial security – and better protect us if a partner or co-parent suddenly die.
I’ve said at the Flourix website: “We might not like to think about it, but everyone, no matter how young or healthy needs to be able to answer some big questions.”
Who’ll look after my family if something happens to me?
“Like who will look after my family if something happens to me? And how would they get by if I did die? Or if I suffered an injury or illness and couldn’t look after myself anymore, who would I trust to make important decisions for me?
“We can guide you through the process of answering these questions, and then help you document your intentions. You’ll leave knowing that your affairs are in order, and you can go back to focusing on happier things.”
This is a message I believe is particularly important to share with women, who still today are very vulnerable because they often leave financial decisions to someone else.
And did you know that even when women take responsibility for their financial decisions, still today they we can get caught in substantial financial traps that can lead to poverty in older age?
In my article Why Women Need a Unique Focus on their Finances for Money and Life, published in 2021 but still relevant today, I outline the key drivers for this.
Women particularly, need to learn how to protect ourselves from financial insecurity
Being aware and establishing practical ways to protect ourselves is important – especially as we age. Because devastating as unexpected loss is when we are younger, the more inevitable passing of our partners when we’re elderly can leave us struggling to come to grips with financial truths when we are dealing with grief and loss. We can help you with this.
You might also be someone who is recently widowed and would like to talk to a financial adviser. This is a common problem that can overwhelm the newly widowed at a time when they are struggling with grief itself.
If this is your situation, Flourix Wealth is here for you.
Here are some articles on the Good Grief! website which can help you prepare for financial consequences of death.
https://good-grief.com.au/will-i-be-able-to-access-our-joint-bank-account-when-my-partner-dies/