Okay What Next?

During the pandemic, my mind has wandered a little and I have been Assessing Calder’s own business model when client relationships come to an end. 

If I am to be honest, having the right-fit client has one drawback. I find myself mourning the passing of a client, no correction – ‘a friend’, who contracted COVID19. The Calder team joins me in saying that our thoughts remain with the family members and friends at this time. 

The Right Fit-Client. 

From the outset, Calder Finance sought to work with the ‘right-fit client’. By this I mean people in whom we strive to invest both our time and expertise to achieve their goals. As these client-relationships have evolved, I have found myself eagerly attending annual reviews with clients who, I readily admit, have also become friends.  

Another unintentional consequence of this evolving client-relationship is that we have become the first and only call when the client’s family seeks answers in the Probate process; it seems that gone are the days when a family might present themselves before the family Solicitor.  

Waving goodbye to clients. 

There are the good and bad in all professions and so I do not seek to say that all colleagues in the legal profession are bad advisors. That said, I too have had less than positive experiences. On one occasion, I referred a bereaved client to a Solicitor for Probate services. The client reported back that they had been recommended to the Solicitor’s IFA ‘chum’ for investment advice. In another case, my client complained about the poor service from the Solicitor that I had recommended and the client, in turn, blamed me. All of the goodwill and trust developed with the late client and their family was lost in an instant. 

Mrs A and why we are grateful to her. 

My mind turns to several years ago and a lady, (I’ll call her ‘Mrs A’) who made me realise that the role of our sister company, Calder Succession, was not just to produce pre-death Succession Planning for clients’ Wills, Trusts and Succession. Mrs A’s husband, a genuinely decent gentleman, has passed away and she dropped into the office unannounced, death certificate in hand, and asking ‘Okay, what next?’. Explaining that Mrs A will need to meet a Solicitor, she shared her candid view about members of the legal profession and instructed me that her husband trusted Calder and so should she. Mrs A added that since Calder Succession put the pre-death Succession Planning (Wills and Trusts) together, we must be the ones to implement the post-death Probate process.  

A critical moment. 

This became a critical moment for Calder - The Calder Probate Platform evolved from Mrs A’s insistence that only we should manage her husband’s Probate process and I remain truly grateful to her. The Platform has benefitted clients ever since and, in so doing, our business model has evolved into providing comprehensive and multi-generational advice. 

The Probate Process. 

When we began to break down the process of the Probate process, we realised that we had the necessary experience and discipline to look after our bereaved clients and extend the planning process for future generations.  

Stage One. 

The action points. The different companies and individuals with an interest in the estate are notified of the death and valuations of asset/liabilities are obtained.  

The Calder approach. Letters of authority, notifications, obtaining valuations and process management all fall within the skill set of the Calder Team. In fact, we usually have a head-start in this process because we will already have an idea of the complexion of the estate. When the late client has undertaken planning with Calder Succession, we will provide immediate guidance on the method of the administration at this critical stage. 

Stage Two. 

The action points. The second stage involves the collation of the financial data and submission to H M Revenue & Customs. A separate part of the process involves an application to the Probate Registry for a document known as a Grant of Probate/Administration. 

The Calder approach. A member of the Calder Succession team has, for the last thirty-five years, specialised in all aspects of the Wills, Trusts and Probate. With a wealth of experience in contentious and non-contentious Probate work, we will work with clients to create an accurate and compliant submission to HMRC, ensuring the accuracy of assessments to tax. The application to the Probate Registry is a regulated activity and we involve Solicitors who will act on a fixed-fee basis on this specific part of the process. 

Stage Three. 

The action points. The third stage arises after the Grant of Probate/Administration issues. Usually bank accounts are closed, shares sold, investments encashed and other property sold.  

The Calder approach. The structure of the deceased’s assets will be the product of sometime years of planning in coordination with the person who has died. When we are involved within the Wills and Trusts in Succession Planning, we will have an intimate understanding of the reasons why certain assets and investments exist. This is why the wholesale closure of accounts, disposal of assets and sale of every other asset in a person’s estate is not always such a good idea. When Calder Finance has implemented the financial planning for the deceased, we are best-placed to understand the efficiency of ‘grafting’ the different assets onto the finances of the individual beneficiaries. This completes the first cycle of succession planning and one of the objectives of the deceased can be achieved - multi-generational Succession Planning. 

Stage Four. 

The action points. The fourth stage arises when the distribution from the estate is being completed and tax clearances issued.  

The Calder approach. Our advice process will consider the use of a post-death variation of the Will, if tax efficiencies are identified. Individual beneficiaries will then undertake their own planning using the Calder Succession Plan. Trust implementation will be considered whereby loans and distributions made for generational protection. 

 Conclusion. 

As I write this article, I realise the extent to which Calder has evolved into a multi-generational planning resource for clients. I am prepared to admit that I was once an IFA who saw only the client’s immediate goals in the advice process without looking into their succession. With experience and in response to particular demand from clients, we stand in a good place to help families for generations to come.  

In my experience, most of us have fundamental human instinct to provide for our successors. My mind turns to a wealthy childless bachelor who gave all of his estate to his (even wealthier) spinster-sister with whom he’d not spoken in thirty years. The close friends, neighbours and charities who had provided so much support before the bachelor’s death were overlooked in favour of a relative, but a stranger. Does this desire to provide for one’s kin derive from nature or nurture? To answer this, I can only draw on my own approach, especially following Father’s Day in the UK recently. Reflecting on the hopes and fears for my children, I know that the income my wife and I generate must be invested properly for our future goals but without ignoring our instinct to provide for our children. When that future day comes on the death of the survivor of us, I do not want the careful and meticulous effort put into the structure of my own financial affairs to be clumsily handled by Solicitor who liquidates everything, regardless of the consequences and with little or no understanding of our objectives or the nuances of the special tax treatment of the investments themselves.  

It is my firm belief that the role of the Solicitor in ‘Probate’ will be further constrained as lay people seek to undertake ‘DIY Probate’ (I wish them luck) and as professionals better placed to advise begin to enter the marketplace. The Calder Group has established a firm foothold with an excellent reputation for answering to the objectives of the individual client while being able to advise at a multi-generational level. 

Tom Buck Dip PFS

?Tom Specialises in working with small to medium size family businesses to help them create, manage and protect their wealth for future generations. With over 25 years experience in Succession planning, Wealth Generation, Asset Protection and Inheritance Tax Planning - Tom and the team at The Calder Group can help you live the life of your dreams while protecting the capital for generations to come