When we wax technical..
Counter intuitive as it may appear, as advisors we have to appreciate that wealth is a burden to most clients
Typically, the long road to client’s commercial success was paved with stress and challenges, until eventually the point was reached where they had more to lose than to gain
At that point, the client’s become rich, and the pain of losing it all exceeds the emotional gain of working for more, so thoughts of retirement start to play in the mind
Trouble is, life starts to be lived under continuous emotional threat. Belongings take control, sleep degrades, stress increases, humour is a distant friend..
The Roman philosopher, Seneca, said ‘possessions make us worry about downside, thus acting as a punishment as we depend on them’
Seneca suggested going through mental exercises to ‘write off possessions’. That way, when loss occurs, it’s less painful
Psychologists call it ‘loss aversion’ but it runs deeper than that. Thoughts turn to embrace mortality, and the ‘what ifs?’
If the brains behind my business dies, how will it flourish in future? Who is technically able to best protect my family’s interests in the complex probate process? Which of my family assets will need to be sold in a hurry to pay death duties? etc
So, whom to talk to? Line of least resistance is ‘my accountant’, who’s likely become a ‘friend’ over the years. Trouble is, those with an accounting background, tend to look at everything as an accounting problem
Worse perhaps, those with too much to do somewhere, typically do little elsewhere – and UK Inheritance Tax for wealthy people is, typically, a highly technical TAX puzzle requiring practising, subject matter experts
Our tax team are Chartered Tax Advisors, the highest tax qualification available in the UK, or anywhere
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