Considering how you would like to be treated at a sensitive time can make the difference in helping clients cope with estate planning issues following bereavement, according to Financial Planner Simon Bonnett of Chartered Financial Planners Becketts.

The latest Planner Casebook for Financial Planning Today magazine looks at how Mr Bonnett helped a well-off professional client cope with challenging estate planning issues following a shock bereavement.

He had been retained by a FTSE 100 company to help the executive and senior staff prepare for later life.

The client was a pension lawyer with many decades of experience who had attended one of the sessions which had been set up by his employer.

The client, 'George', had initially engaged with Mr Bonnett to help his family deal with an inheritance from his father-in-law, but sadly the client’s wife passed away suddenly.

Following his wife’s death, the client’s key aim was to retire at 65 with an annual income after tax of £50,000 and to leave as much of his wealth to his children and grandchildren as possible, rather than the taxman.

The Casebook, a regular feature in each issue, highlighted how sometimes imparting simple knowledge can have a positive impact and working alongside complementary professionals clients can be invaluable.

It also looked at how clients need to understand how planning can change the lives of not just themselves, but the next generations of the family. However, the client remains the prime consideration and planning must reflect this.

Simon Bonnett is an associate director at Chartered Financial Planning firm Becketts. He began his career at an insurance company over thirty years ago administering pensions and, subsequently, held senior positions at leading accountancy firms and private banks in the City. He established the corporate pensions department at the then largest ethical-focused IFA and maintains a keen interest in ethical investing for clients. More recently, Simon has worked closely with a homeless charity in Ipswich which complements his interest in ethical investments.

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