Where there is a will there really is a way (or ask for not whom the bell tolls, ask if the campanologist has his or her affairs in order)! Dr David Cliff explores the days we dread.
They say the only certainty in life is death and taxes. Given the current economic crisis, one could be forgiven for the preponderance of attention day to day is on the latter, but the former is a critical consideration in our lives.
Procrastination is a natural trait used when we wish to defer, avoid, or otherwise accommodate fear. It is an understandable defence mechanism to the grisly prospect of our demise. Our common usage belies this. We use terms like ‘always’ and ‘forever’, as if our finite human experience encapsulates all time.
We fear our end, and our failure to engage with the subject can add to the existential despair some experience, questing meaning, purpose and validation in life with the attendant fear that life can be somehow “wasted”. Post industrially, this ultimately, translates into legacy and the extension of our wishes posthumously.
Yes, its complex, deeply philosophical and emotional. In a ‘brass-tacks sense’, a society that looks at possession, wealth and indeed tax liabilities that fall out of our demise can only be addressed by good estate planning and our wishes embodied in a will.
Things become more complex with increasing longevity. In 1873 the average age of death was around forty. Now, most can look to achieving seventies/ eighties, with record numbers becoming centenarian. Longer lifespans create greater potential for experiencing significant periods of incapacity, wherein people need effective powers of attorney, for health and financial matters.
These cannot be ‘kicked down the road’ – there are avoidable risks in so doing. The relational, financial, material, business and legal elements of our lives are often massively compromised if not thought through when we are no longer present or incapacitated.
Relax, I am not about to introduce the Grim Reaper, the increase of secularism, erosion of faith systems, or Samoan funerary rituals here. Aww, you say.
Let me instead introduce a wonderful force of nature that Gedanken has been pleased, nay blown away, to work with, Leah Hamilton, MD of Hamilton Legacy. Her Durham based practice covers the North East and beyond and ‘gets’ all the legals, procedurals and processes to effectively manage people’s affairs when fate is unkind, or just inevitable. Leah and her staff undertake this with such heart, passion and a level of person centredness I have rarely seen in many law practices, or indeed in the online world. Leah explains, “We take the time to understand people’s wishes and needs, which often change as their circumstances do and walk with them every step of the way”. Leah and her team recognise the often very difficult choices people have to make when planning for difficult times. “Nobody wants to think about a time when they are incapable, or no longer here, but this is reality. Where we can become empowered in these processes, is by safe, thoughtful, effective planning that give us a real say at those times in which we can’t speak for ourselves. Our clients retain their control, their dignity and much of the meaning, value and purpose they have built throughout their lives”.
Moving back to those taxes, these are often an accompanying factor with one’s death. “Paying tax twice over is not a great prospect in what is a high tax society anyway”, Leah reflects, “careful planning legitimately mitigates tax burdens and protects your estate to best benefit those closest to you”.
Whether its your business succession, family arrangements, or own personal desires, Hamilton Legacy offers a chance to plan and retain control of life and business matters. Leah’s service offers peace of mind for clients, their families and often staff. “Wishes are clarified, so others don’t have to ‘best guess’ what a person wants at a crucial time”, she adds.
Leah commissioned Gedanken to look at how she and her team could extend her business activity further across the northeast as well as develop her own ultimate plans for addressing her work/life balance with appropriate scaling. “Gedanken has helped us to more strongly communicate the value of our offering with clients and openly celebrate the solid values of competence, quality practice and sensitive, compassionate service that is central to both the company’s values and those held personally”.
For realists and pragmatists who don’t do procrastination, especially, when they have worked so hard, Leah is someone who truly changes fear to fascination, uncertainty to clarity and hard-won achievements into meaningful legacy!
www.gedanken.co.uk
www.hamiltonlegacy.co.uk