brave is kind

Danette O’Brien: The Good That Came Out Of My Dad’s Death

Stories

At the time of her dad’s death Danette O’Brien was working as an Executive Assistant, supporting a CEO and Board and she’d done this type of work for 40 years. Never for a moment did she think planning a funeral that truly honoured her fun, cheeky but sometimes ‘challenging’ dad would be the catalyst to a career change. A couple of weeks after her dad’s funeral, Danette had the sudden realisation that she felt called […]

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Why You Should Get Your Own Lawyer For A Deceased Estate

Business Estate Planning, Estate Administration, Estate Planning

There aren’t many things that get me fired up quite as much as hearing someone tell me they felt pressured to use a dead person’s lawyer to administer an estate – despite the fact that they really wanted to use someone of their own choosing. It’s a misconception almost as common as ‘lightening never strikes twice’, or ‘bats are blind’ or ‘humans only use 10% of their brain (granted for some humans that may in

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Why a Personal Asset Plan is an Awesome Gift to Give Your Family

Business Estate Planning, Estate Administration, Estate Planning

Creating a personal asset plan is a great way of helping your family understand what “stuff” you’ve got but it’s the gift that keeps on giving, if you use it as an excuse to do some Spring cleaning at the same time. I recently attended the home of an elderly gentleman, who like me, was a card-carrying member of the Minimalist Movement. We bonded over our mutual love of the actual Minimalist aesthetic – Scandinavian

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Nominating A Friend As Your Executor

Business Estate Planning, Death Chats, Dream Dead Person Project, Estate Administration, Estate Planning

When it comes to nominating a friend as an executor most people have a whole raft of thoughts, feelings, and considerations the people who nominate a family memeber don’t seem to have. The biggest one is how to nominate a friend as an executor or substitute decision maker without being a burden. Like “Don’t be a burden.” is a very important clause in the rules of friendship – but not so much when it comes

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Deceased Estate Shares

Business Estate Planning, Dream Dead Person Project, Estate Administration, Estate Planning

Being a good shareholder is about more than just managing assets – it’s about ensuring a smooth transition if your family will be managing deceased estate shares. I’m excited to be partnering with Jon Moses, a specialist deceased estate stockbroker (and great human), from JM Invest. I asked Jon what it takes to be a good dead shareholder and he didn’t just answer the questions, he came through with all the information. If you’d like

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Expectations of Estate Administration Vs Reality

Death Chats, Dream Dead Person Project, Estate Administration, Estate Planning

When I talk to people about their expectations around estate administration I take the time to explain that managing a deceased estate is an honour, but it also has the potential to be hard (not always but sometimes). Like having a baby or getting married or deciding to retire and spend all day with your beloved – nobody wants to tell you it might be difficult beforehand or you wouldn’t sign up for it. Managing

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Business Succession Planning

Business Estate Planning, Estate Administration, Estate Planning

As a business owner, farmer’s wife, and farmer’s daughter I understand how difficult it is to separate the business from the person – the years of hard work, financial investment, and emotional commitment make it particularly hard to imagine there being a day where your business and life aren’t extricably linked. Unfortunately many business owners die or become incapacitated without ever getting around to formally addressing the succession of their business. Just as most entrepreneurs

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End Of Life Care

Estate Planning

It never ceases to amaze me that in our fear of talking (or even thinking) about death, we’ve created a vacuum where we’re blindsided by how emotionally and physically taxing it is to care for someone who is dying. People often tell me they don’t want to burden their family with the messy, emotional heavy lifting of death. Forgetting that even if their dying happens away from home – in a hospice, hospital, or residential

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Estate Planning Vs Writing A Will

Estate Administration, Estate Planning

Your estate is the total of everything you own, including money, assets, investments, property and debts. Your will is the documentation that outlines what you want to happen to all of those things when you die. Whilst a will is an important tool, estate planning is about so much more than just making a will. Why do I need a will? A will enables you to specify how you want your assets distributed after you

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Why would I want a Testamentary Trust?

Estate Administration, Estate Planning

Including a Discretionary Testamentary Trust in your will offers your beneficiaries more choice about how they receive their gift, whilst providing significant asset protection and tax advantages. Yet many people are unaware the process is as simple as setting up the ‘rules of the trust’ as part of their estate planning. How does a Testamentary Trust work? Unlike an Inter Vivos trust (a trust set up and operated in your lifetime, such as a Family

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