/ / / I want to protect my financial legacy
step 1

Ask yourself some tough questions

Basically, when it comes to planning your financial legacy, the first thing you need to do is ask yourself a couple of difficult questions. Although it might not be a pleasant subject, give these questions some serious thought. This will help you when it comes time to put together your will, Living Will and any Power of Attorney directions.

  1. Firstly...

    Who do you want to make medical, legal and financial decisions for you in the event that you’re alive and unable to make decisions for yourself?

  2. Then...

    Consider what will happen financially when you pass away? (IE – what happens to what you own, what you owe, etc)

  3. And finally...

    What late-in-life medical decisions do I want to make for myself now so that my loved ones can follow my directions later?

step 2

Think about retirement and savings early

Unfortunately, many of us either won’t have enough saved to plan for our retirement, or will have most of our personal net worth tied up in a single highly illiquid asset, such as a family business.

While we’re young and busy with work, social life and family, it can be easy to put retirement planning to the back of your mind, but consider this – it’s estimated you’ll need up to 60% of your pre-retirement salary in super to live the lifestyle you want after work. The sooner you can start taking it seriously, the better.

  1. Use the tools at hand

    Ideally, you’d be able to enter a few details about yourself into an online tool, which would then calculate how you’re tracking in relation to your retirement goals. What a coincidence – that’s exactly what the Bridges Retirement Lab does.

    Get started here

  2. Maximise your super

    If you’re still after a little more advice, we’ve put together a simple to use 4-step guide to making the most of your super contributions.

    Check it out

step 3

Get the right cover

To make sure that your loved ones aren’t left vulnerable, part of your financial legacy planning should include examining your options when it comes to Life Insurance. Whatever your budget, having some sort of safety net in place will help you sleep better at night.

Whether you decide on a simple lump sum in the event that you pass away, or you opt for trauma or total and permanent disability cover as part of your package, you owe it to your family to ensure that their needs can be met even if your income were to suddenly dry up.

step 4

Don't be afraid of getting help

When it comes to planning your financial legacy, especially Estate Planning, things can get complicated fairly quickly. There may be a part of you that feels that you’d be better off handling all aspects of your estate yourself, but beware – pride really cometh before the fall.

Getting the right help when it comes to Estate Planning and Succession Planning for Business will ensure you’re made completely aware of all your options, and that no silly mistakes will occur. You don’t want to underestimate the ramifications of getting your Estate Planning wrong, folks.

Find out more about Estate Planning here.

step 5

Keep up the good work

Once you’ve struck up a relationship with a reputable Financial Planner you can trust, you can work through all the finer details of how your financial legacy will play out.

One important thing to remember though, is that as time goes on, this plan should be evolving as changes in your life occur. You should get in touch with your Financial Planner and update your plan accordingly after major life events such as:

  1. Births & Deaths

    Any births or deaths in your family that need to be amended in your legacy plan.

  2. Relationships

    Any changes in relationship status – a new commitment or break-up, for example.

  3. Financial changes

    Any significant financial event – an inheritance, a new job, any financial difficulty, etc.