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highlight & episode:
I don't know if anyone on the call has been on the MyGov website,

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highlight & episode:
but there's links within links and pages within pages.

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highlight & episode:
And when you're dealing with grief, to have to try and comprehend all of that

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highlight & episode:
paperwork is pretty overwhelming.

5
... Read More

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highlight & episode:
I don't know if anyone on the call has been on the MyGov website,

2
00:00:04,350 --> 00:00:07,870
highlight & episode:
but there's links within links and pages within pages.

3
00:00:08,050 --> 00:00:12,490
highlight & episode:
And when you're dealing with grief, to have to try and comprehend all of that

4
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highlight & episode:
paperwork is pretty overwhelming.

5
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highlight & episode:
The sourcing of documentation took up most of my time and statistically it takes

6
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highlight & episode:
200 to 300 hours for an executor to administer an estate.

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highlight & episode:
And I'm not surprised having done it myself because there's not really a clear roadmap.

8
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highlight & episode:
These things can absolutely blow out for months and up to a year and I was fortunate

9
00:00:38,410 --> 00:00:42,850
highlight & episode:
enough to take time off work and I don't have any children or dependents and

10
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highlight & episode:
it still took me 12 months.

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highlight & episode:
So how families with dependents and career and travel and responsibilities are doing this is beyond me.

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highlight & episode:
It almost becomes a full-time job.

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intro:
Welcome to Don't Be Caught Dead, a podcast encouraging open conversations about

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00:01:02,190 --> 00:01:04,310
intro:
dying and the death of a loved one.

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00:01:04,610 --> 00:01:09,850
intro:
I'm your host, Catherine Ashton, founder of Critical Info, and I'm helping to

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intro:
bring your stories of death back to life.

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intro:
Because while you may not be ready to die, at least you can be prepared.

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intro:
Don't Be Caught Dead acknowledges the lands of the Kulin Nations and recognises

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intro:
their connection to land, sea and community.

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intro:
We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging and extend that

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intro:
respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nation peoples around the globe.

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Catherine:
Today we're speaking with Danielle Phillips, an only child and the founder of

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Catherine:
Sage Executor Solutions.

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Catherine:
Danielle realised the importance of an executor when she lost both of her parents

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Catherine:
at the age of 35 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Catherine:
Danielle then decided to found Sage Executor Solutions that provide support

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Catherine:
to a deceased person's family and the executor of the well.

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Catherine:
Thank you so much for being with us today, Danielle.

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Danielle:
Thanks,

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Danielle:
Catherine. It's great to be here. Thanks for having me.

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Catherine:
So tell me about that time and those challenges that you went through when in

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Catherine:
the middle of COVID you lost both your parents.

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Catherine:
Yes, it was extremely traumatic, you might say.

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Catherine:
And I just remember at the time when the pandemic was announced,

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Catherine:
looking at, I guess, seeing on the TV.

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Catherine:
There were nursing homes that were, you know, going into lockdown and families

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Catherine:
that couldn't go in and see grandparents.

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Catherine:
And I just thought, imagine being one of those people that were told you can't

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Catherine:
go and see a family member or someone that was ill or someone that was sick

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Catherine:
because of the pandemic. And I just felt so awful for those people.

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Danielle:
And within a month of that, I found myself pretty much in the same position.

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Danielle:
I did get a call from my dad who was

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Danielle:
taken to emergency after having some

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Danielle:
chest issues for a couple of months and doctors

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Danielle:
couldn't quite work out what was happening and

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Danielle:
so I got the call he'd gone into emergency so

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Danielle:
I jumped on a flight got there within the day and

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Danielle:
and called the emergency department

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Danielle:
to speak to the doctor and said I'm I'm on my

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Danielle:
way on the train on the way to the hospital where do

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Danielle:
I meet you and of course the response was no you can't come in the hospitals

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Danielle:
in lockdown because of COVID and they'd done a couple of scans at the hospital

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Danielle:
and found there was quite a large shadow across dad's lungs and the only option

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Danielle:
was to intubate so he could either.

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Danielle:
Try and recover in the instance that it was an infection or a pneumonia,

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Danielle:
and they had to biopsy to see whether it was potentially also a cancer.

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Danielle:
So I was basically told you can do a FaceTime with dad before he goes into ICU

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Danielle:
and say goodbye in the instance that he doesn't make it through.

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Danielle:
And my mum at this time had been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder

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Danielle:
called corticobasal degeneration.

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Danielle:
And dad was her full-time carer. So she was cognitively completely 100% there,

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Danielle:
but there's a protein that overgrows in the brain and stops the signals going

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Danielle:
to the muscles. So she was very limited in her mobility.

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Danielle:
So therefore dad had to be her full-time carer. So mom and I basically at the

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Danielle:
family home had to get on a FaceTime call and say goodbye to dad in the instance he didn't recover.

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Danielle:
And within three days after the biopsy, they realized it was it was a very aggressive

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Danielle:
cancer and we were allowed into the ICU and to make the decision to turn off the ventilator.

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Danielle:
So it all happened extremely quickly in some of the most traumatic times.

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Danielle:
And I guess, you know, then I realised this is more than just about grief and loss of a parent.

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Danielle:
This is now me having to step in as dad's executor with very little help from

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Danielle:
mum because of her capacity issues whilst we were in a lockdown and mum needed full-time care.

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Danielle:
So fast forward 15 months down the track, I did bring mum back to South Australia

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Danielle:
where I live and got her into a wonderful nursing home at Helping Hand in North Adelaide.

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Danielle:
And mum did decline and eventually did pass away in the nursing home.

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Danielle:
So I was then back in the position of a mum and realised there was just very

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Danielle:
limited space and capacity for an executor who is the next of kin and family

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Danielle:
member to be able to grieve.

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Danielle:
You're just thrown into this whirlpool of time-sensitive

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Danielle:
form-filling and phone calls and really that's

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Danielle:
the last thing that you want to have to do when you've just lost a parent a

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Danielle:
sister a brother a partner or a child so I thought it was pretty inhumane and

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Danielle:
there was really no organization or support network that I could delegate anything

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Danielle:
to to give myself that space and capacity.

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Danielle:
So hence Sage Executive Solutions was born because I'm really here to step in

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Danielle:
and mobilize for families when they find themselves in the position of executor

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Danielle:
of the will or next of kin and they really just don't want to have to do all of the administration.

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Catherine:
And what are some of the things that you found sort of the most challenging to do in that time?

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Catherine:
Like, you know, you mentioned that you put your own life on hold,

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Catherine:
moved when you got the call from

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Catherine:
the doctor about your father and then you then had to step in as carer,

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Catherine:
as well like yeah that's a

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Catherine:
lot to have to deal with

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Danielle:
it's it was

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Danielle:
a lot to navigate and really during that 15

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Danielle:
months after dad passed priority was really mum and

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Danielle:
mum's care and getting her close to me and with South Australia fortunately

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Danielle:
our borders were closed which meant that nursing homes remained open to visitors

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Danielle:
so I was able to bring mum home every day and spend quality time with her.

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Danielle:
So that was the real focus.

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Danielle:
But what I found really the most time consuming was actually.

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Danielle:
Navigating my way through the list of organisations to notify and, you know,

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Danielle:
accounts to close and even just you are in the right documentation for that

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Danielle:
because I don't know if anyone on the call has been on the MyGov website,

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Danielle:
but there's links within links and pages within pages.

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Danielle:
And when you're dealing with grief to have to try and comprehend all

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Danielle:
of that paperwork is pretty overwhelming so I

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Danielle:
actually found that just the sourcing of

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Danielle:
documentation took up most of my time and

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Danielle:
statistically it takes 200 to 300 hours

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00:08:01,380 --> 00:08:04,880
Danielle:
for an executor to administer an estate and I'm

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00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,940
Danielle:
not surprised having done it myself because there's

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00:08:08,940 --> 00:08:12,120
Danielle:
there's not really a clear roadmap there's

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Danielle:
no chronological order in which you're

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Danielle:
kind of advised to do it so these things can

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00:08:18,780 --> 00:08:21,580
Danielle:
absolutely blow out for months and up to a

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Danielle:
year and I actually was fortunate enough to

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Danielle:
take time off work and I don't have any children or dependents and it still

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Danielle:
took me 12 months so how families with dependents and career and travel and

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Danielle:
responsibilities are doing this is beyond me and I really feel for them to be

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Danielle:
in that position because it almost becomes a full-time job.

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Catherine:
Yeah, and look, that was totally my experience as well when our friend died

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Catherine:
and just that added layer of, you know, his children were American.

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Catherine:
So they didn't even understand the system in Australia, let alone what was the first step.

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Catherine:
And as you clearly said, there is no real guide, you know, at that time that

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Catherine:
could take us through those steps that were required. And that was challenging.

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Catherine:
And also, there's just so many assumptions that I found about that when you

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Catherine:
ring these services that they assume.

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Catherine:
Well, firstly, it'd be a lot challenging for Sophia if I hadn't been the one

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Catherine:
making the phone calls because they would sometimes argue with me about whether

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Catherine:
that person was deceased or not.

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Catherine:
And I'm like, no, I can assure you they are.

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Catherine:
And I'm like, I can't believe that that's what they say to someone who's ringing

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Catherine:
up to notify you that they're dead, you know, and you can't speak to them on

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Catherine:
the phone because that's impossible.

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Catherine:
You know,

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Danielle:
yeah, it's they're almost not listening.

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Danielle:
It's just a robotics feel that they need to go through.

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Danielle:
So when you're trying to manage this role of transactional responsibility,

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Danielle:
but be, you know, in a space of really just needing compassion, that gap can be.

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00:10:08,100 --> 00:10:13,660
Danielle:
And I found the same when dad passed and mum, of course, was dad's executor.

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Danielle:
I was mum's power of attorney.

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Danielle:
But because of mum's neurological disorder, she couldn't speak well.

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Danielle:
She had a lot of speaking difficulties. And they would constantly say to me,

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Danielle:
we need to speak to the executor.

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Danielle:
And I would try and get them to understand, mum doesn't have capacity to speak.

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Danielle:
So you feel like you're hitting a brick wall a lot of the time.

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Danielle:
So yeah, it's emotionally very challenging.

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Catherine:
Wow, that is such an extra layer that you had to deal with.

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Catherine:
And what would be interesting whether you had a similar experience is that you're

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Catherine:
talking to people sometimes that don't understand what the appropriate legal documents are either.

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Catherine:
So you know in that situation that

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00:10:58,650 --> 00:11:01,610
Catherine:
you were just talking through we know that an

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00:11:01,610 --> 00:11:04,810
Catherine:
executor is related to a will and that

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00:11:04,810 --> 00:11:09,490
Catherine:
happens and becomes effective after death whereas a power of attorney is something

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00:11:09,490 --> 00:11:15,970
Catherine:
that is pre-death and you can represent that person so it you know to you and

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00:11:15,970 --> 00:11:21,630
Catherine:
I who have a little bit of experience in this space you you can know that you were in the right.

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Catherine:
Areas to be talking and you had the appropriate permissions but

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00:11:25,390 --> 00:11:27,670
Catherine:
a lot of people don't even have that knowledge

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00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:28,910
Danielle:
no that's

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00:11:28,910 --> 00:11:33,630
Danielle:
right and if they've not been through what we've been through the penny hasn't

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00:11:33,630 --> 00:11:39,050
Danielle:
really dropped for them I don't think yeah and then the added complication with

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00:11:39,050 --> 00:11:45,390
Danielle:
the fact that you Danielle are in South Australia and I am in Victoria and so

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00:11:45,390 --> 00:11:47,170
Danielle:
our laws are different aren't they?

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00:11:47,510 --> 00:11:53,870
Danielle:
And mum and dad's estate was pretty much in New South Wales and I'm in SA so

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00:11:53,870 --> 00:11:58,670
Danielle:
you can imagine how many trips back and forward once the borders were open that

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00:11:58,670 --> 00:12:02,150
Danielle:
I had to make to deal with property related matters.

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00:12:02,550 --> 00:12:09,330
Danielle:
Fortunately COVID has evolved a lot in terms of the way we deal with probate

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00:12:09,330 --> 00:12:13,490
Danielle:
applications to the court and we can maybe touch on what that probate is a little

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00:12:13,490 --> 00:12:15,510
Danielle:
bit later But prior to COVID,

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Danielle:
there was no video calls with lawyers.

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Danielle:
So certain states now at least have, I guess,

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Danielle:
been able to offer people such as myself the ability to witness and certify

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Danielle:
documentation for a probate application when perhaps the executor isn't living in the estate,

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Danielle:
the state of the deceased estate. So, yeah.

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Catherine:
One of the good things to come out of COVID.

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Danielle:
One of the good things.

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Catherine:
Now, tell us, at what point did the penny drop for you that you thought,

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Catherine:
I think I'm going to turn this into a business?

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Danielle:
So for me, it was after the 12 months

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Danielle:
of being knee deep in paperwork and realizing that my time would have been so

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Danielle:
much better used if I was able to engage in some grief counseling or healing

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Danielle:
or being able to actually just settle into the reality of what had happened.

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Danielle:
Because really that ability to process things isn't afforded to you because

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Danielle:
the priority becomes administration.

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Danielle:
So I think from a human perspective, the inability for us to be able to process

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Danielle:
our loss is inhumane. And so I just thought.

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Danielle:
If I could have delegated this or some of this or handballed it,

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Danielle:
I would have been much better off mentally and emotionally and physically, because as we know,

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00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:52,700
Danielle:
physical ailments can often arise from emotional and mental stress and trauma.

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00:13:53,460 --> 00:13:56,940
Danielle:
So, you know, a lot of physical ailments came up for me.

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00:13:57,340 --> 00:14:03,360
Danielle:
And that's when I thought this has inspired me to be someone that's gone through

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00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:08,920
Danielle:
the process, that's walked the walk, that has learnt some of the best ways to

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00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,720
Danielle:
work through the process in a chronological order.

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00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:15,540
Danielle:
I've built my own road through the process. I came up with an inventory of about

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00:14:15,540 --> 00:14:18,100
Danielle:
40 different tasks that I had to address.

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00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,800
Danielle:
And when I first embarked on the process, I would have thought maybe there were

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00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:24,580
Danielle:
five or 10 things I needed to do.

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00:14:24,700 --> 00:14:29,100
Danielle:
But as you know, once you start the process, it's like opening Pandora's box.

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Danielle:
You notify one department and all of a sudden that means that,

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Danielle:
you know, two other or three other organisations attached to that need to be notified.

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Danielle:
And there's just, yeah, so many little tips and tricks along the way that I

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Danielle:
learnt that I just wanted to pay forward that information to try and lighten the load for people,

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Danielle:
particularly the executives and

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Danielle:
next of kin, where there never has been a choice or a luxury to decide,

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Danielle:
do I have the capacity right now to be on the phone to Telstra or Centrelink

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Danielle:
and potentially on the phone to someone that doesn't really empathise with my situation.

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Danielle:
So that was my inspiration.

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Catherine:
And you talk about the skills required. What do you think are the skills?

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Catherine:
Because I think that sometimes when we agree to be someone's executor,

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Catherine:
if we do have a will, and that's if we do have a will, because we know that,

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Catherine:
you know, it's only roughly half the population or a little less than half the

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Catherine:
population that has written a will.

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Catherine:
So what are the skills? You know, you sign the will and you sign as an executor,

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Catherine:
but what really are you actually signing up for?

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Catherine:
Because I don't think that until we'd really gone through it with Roland that

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Catherine:
I'd really comprehended just how much is involved if it's not documented.

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Catherine:
Because for me personally, you know, my father was a clerk of the coroner's court.

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Catherine:
So we've always had wills and documentation and things like that.

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Catherine:
I just thought that was normal until I met my husband and realized that it's so not normal.

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Catherine:
And so, you know, I knew, I thought I knew to a degree how much it involved.

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Catherine:
But it was those, like, pesky letters that turn up eight months later when you

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Catherine:
think you've got everything covered that you just go, oh,

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Catherine:
oh, I didn't think about that, you know, getting the annual eye test or something,

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Catherine:
you know, really, really just mundane like that.

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Danielle:
Just triggering, you know. You think you've started to reach the light at the end of the tunnel.

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Danielle:
My aha moment was the electoral roll. So, there was a New South Wales election

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Danielle:
and I was so fortunate as to receive a fine because mum hadn't voted.

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Danielle:
And my assumption would be that one of the government departments would have

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Danielle:
talked to the Electoral Commission, but that's not the case.

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Danielle:
So, it was, yeah, 12 months later when I thought, great, I've tied everything

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Danielle:
up. And then I was receiving something from the Electoral Commission.

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Danielle:
So, yes, hence the list of 40 different items and things that people don't even think about.

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Danielle:
It's things like if you've got a property that's now vacant,

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Danielle:
notifying the home insurer because if there's an incident at the property,

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Danielle:
such as a theft, breaking,

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Danielle:
fire or flood, and the insurer isn't notified that it's now a deceased estate

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Danielle:
and the insurance policy isn't put into the name of the executor,

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Danielle:
they could very easily deny a claim so it's all those little things that you

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Danielle:
just don't think about that can come back to bite you in the future.

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Catherine:
That is so true, isn't it? And what sort of skills do you think make a good executor?

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Catherine:
So when, before we sign on that dotted line, what, and we've been asked by someone

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Catherine:
to be an executor, what should we really consider what that means?

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Danielle:
Well, capacity for me means a lot of things.

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Danielle:
It's about do I have time capacity? What are my commitments and priorities and responsibilities?

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Danielle:
Do I have other dependents that I'm caring for? What are my work commitments?

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Danielle:
What are my travel commitments?

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Danielle:
The other thing that a lot of people Overlook and something that's coming across

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Danielle:
my desk quite often are people that have been nominated and appointed as an

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Danielle:
executor that are elderly.

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Danielle:
So these people may not have access to the internet, email, they may not be tech savvy.

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Danielle:
And then there's mobility issues because sometimes you need to go into a services

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Danielle:
essay location to present documentation.

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Danielle:
But if you're an elderly person and you don't have mobility and you don't have

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Danielle:
transport, that might make things quite difficult for you.

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Danielle:
So I always think about time capacity, technical capacity, and mobility capacity.

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Danielle:
And I suppose even just, you know, what are your.

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Danielle:
How would you honestly rate your administration skills? Reading,

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Danielle:
comprehending, just general literacy.

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Danielle:
You know, there's tax and accounting considerations.

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Danielle:
There's, you know, such a big responsibility in terms of having to settle liabilities.

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Danielle:
So how comfortable are you with paying bills, settling invoices, making phone calls?

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Danielle:
Emotionally, where are you at in your life? have

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Danielle:
you just recently dealt with a loss or grief

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Danielle:
of your own because this could actually be quite emotionally taxing

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Danielle:
if you're you yourself going through loss and

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Danielle:
a healing process so i hope that gives a

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Danielle:
little bit of idea of just some of

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Danielle:
the considerations because it is

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Danielle:
more of a commitment than a lot of people think

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Danielle:
and as i said statistically it can take up to 300 hours

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Danielle:
can feel like a part-time to full-time job

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Danielle:
and there's there's really

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Danielle:
no harm in having a good think about it before you commit to signing the dotted

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Danielle:
line and there is a small saving grace that if you do find yourself appointed

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Danielle:
executive because some people aren't even told um they find out by chance, surprise,

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Danielle:
you can renounce that responsibility.

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Danielle:
It would need to be formally done with a legal practitioner.

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Danielle:
But if you do find yourself in that position unknowingly and unwillingly, you can renounce.

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Danielle:
And certainly if your circumstances have changed too from, you know,

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Danielle:
sometimes people write their wills and never look at them again and think,

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Danielle:
oh, well, that's that done.

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Danielle:
But we know that life is forever changing and, you know, it's something that

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Danielle:
probably should be kept up to date.

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Danielle:
And, yeah, so if you do find yourself that you can no longer commit,

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Danielle:
they can also, you know, opt out, can't they? Yeah.

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Catherine:
And what do you, you know, where do you find that you fill the gap?

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Catherine:
Sorry, I'm intrigued to who uses your services.

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Catherine:
Like what sort of people are you seeing a trend in particular type of people that use it or?

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Danielle:
Actually, there's no real trend because, as we know, death and loss touches everyone.

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Danielle:
I mean, for me, I was 35 and then I've got clients that are in their 40s and

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Danielle:
50s that have lost a partner and then I've also got sort

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Danielle:
of that older generation that are losing parents.

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Danielle:
So as we know, we're all living longer. So for me, there's no real trend or pattern.

294
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Danielle:
It's something that everyone and anyone could potentially benefit from.

295
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Danielle:
Where I would say that my services would be really beneficial,

296
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Danielle:
Again, it comes back to people without that capacity.

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Danielle:
So really busy mums and dads,

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Danielle:
you know, the sandwich generation, mums and dads that have been caring for their

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Danielle:
own children and then caring for their parents tend to be the most time poor and time pressed we see.

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Danielle:
So lightening that load so that they can

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Danielle:
continue to keep the wheels

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Danielle:
spinning on their life without

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Danielle:
having to be pulled in yet another direction for.

304
00:23:04,230 --> 00:23:07,890
Danielle:
Me is where I see a lot of the benefit because

305
00:23:07,890 --> 00:23:11,190
Danielle:
you've still got to maintain your own household and those responsibilities

306
00:23:11,190 --> 00:23:14,110
Danielle:
so you know people are working longer and

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Danielle:
longer hours so to then be told

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Danielle:
hey you've now got 200 hours worth of extra

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Danielle:
admin that you're not getting paid for that's also

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Danielle:
very emotionally taxing that to

311
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Danielle:
me sort of seems even more unachievable

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Danielle:
for people in in that kind of

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Danielle:
age bracket but then again I do

314
00:23:35,590 --> 00:23:39,210
Danielle:
have some elderly clients which do experience

315
00:23:39,210 --> 00:23:42,270
Danielle:
a bit of I guess they're not as technically

316
00:23:42,270 --> 00:23:45,610
Danielle:
savvy and also with

317
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Danielle:
that generation it was really

318
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Danielle:
one or the other that looked after the accounts

319
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Danielle:
the finances and the home yeah yeah and

320
00:23:55,450 --> 00:23:58,590
Danielle:
then that partner who was doing it

321
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Danielle:
all passes away the surviving spouse

322
00:24:02,210 --> 00:24:05,430
Danielle:
all of a sudden has to start learning

323
00:24:05,430 --> 00:24:11,110
Danielle:
a bunch of new skills that they've never had to do before and in that regard

324
00:24:11,110 --> 00:24:16,690
Danielle:
it's really overwhelming so I'd say probably the sandwich generation and then

325
00:24:16,690 --> 00:24:23,270
Danielle:
the elderly generation are probably if I had to pick a trend or a couple of

326
00:24:23,270 --> 00:24:25,190
Danielle:
trends that's where I'd go.

327
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Catherine:
And when you say, you know, that extra 200 hours on top of whatever else you're

328
00:24:30,700 --> 00:24:33,740
Catherine:
doing and the life that you're living at that point in time,

329
00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:38,660
Catherine:
most of this has to be done within business hours too, doesn't it?

330
00:24:38,750 --> 00:24:40,420
Danielle:
It does have to be done within business hours.

331
00:24:40,580 --> 00:24:44,180
Danielle:
Some of these forms need to be filled out and sent within 28 days,

332
00:24:44,380 --> 00:24:49,380
Danielle:
particularly, you know, government centrally pension related forms so that there

333
00:24:49,380 --> 00:24:53,120
Danielle:
aren't overpayments happening because then we have to pay that back.

334
00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:55,980
Danielle:
And so there's yeah lots of things that you only have

335
00:24:55,980 --> 00:24:58,820
Danielle:
a month to action and some people

336
00:24:58,820 --> 00:25:01,640
Danielle:
don't even have the death certificate then I've got a client at

337
00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:07,420
Danielle:
the moment that's just waited 11 weeks for a death certificate so it's yeah

338
00:25:07,420 --> 00:25:14,200
Danielle:
very it's it's interesting because you've got a 28-day period to do certain

339
00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:19,020
Danielle:
things and then you're waiting for the death certificate in the meantime And then when that comes,

340
00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:22,500
Danielle:
it's sort of like, where do I go next and what do I do next?

341
00:25:22,660 --> 00:25:28,980
Danielle:
And so I suppose what I have established and understood through my own experience

342
00:25:28,980 --> 00:25:34,880
Danielle:
and now through the SAGE business is if you've got a really good roadmap or a checklist.

343
00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:40,880
Danielle:
Something that's been in play and pre-planned, And I guess exactly what you're

344
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:45,840
Danielle:
aiming to achieve, Catherine, with your checklist is how can we remove a lot

345
00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,960
Danielle:
of that workload by planning better for it?

346
00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:52,440
Danielle:
It doesn't have to take 300 hours or 12 months.

347
00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:57,860
Danielle:
My average client case at the moment is being wrapped up within three months.

348
00:25:57,880 --> 00:25:59,300
Danielle:
So that's, you know, great.

349
00:26:00,090 --> 00:26:05,210
Danielle:
Nine months of someone's life that they potentially get back to focus and invest

350
00:26:05,210 --> 00:26:08,230
Danielle:
more on their grief and their healing and just being able to have a cup of tea

351
00:26:08,230 --> 00:26:12,190
Danielle:
with family and look through photos, not be on the phone to Telstra and Centrelink.

352
00:26:12,430 --> 00:26:19,290
Danielle:
So again, there's, you know, preparing and planning that can be so helpful to

353
00:26:19,290 --> 00:26:21,570
Danielle:
reduce and eliminate a lot of that workload.

354
00:26:22,550 --> 00:26:25,730
Catherine:
So... And what would you say, Danielle, are those things that,

355
00:26:25,890 --> 00:26:31,330
Catherine:
you know, people can do beforehand before, you know, we get to the sticky situation

356
00:26:31,330 --> 00:26:36,430
Catherine:
where it's a life-limiting illness that they get diagnosed with or because that

357
00:26:36,430 --> 00:26:39,070
Catherine:
has so much stress and emotion attached with it.

358
00:26:39,370 --> 00:26:42,530
Catherine:
What are some of the things that we can do that make it a little bit easier?

359
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:48,110
Danielle:
So making sure that you've got your hands on original documents like birth certificates,

360
00:26:48,530 --> 00:26:49,570
Danielle:
marriage certificates,

361
00:26:50,110 --> 00:26:56,210
Danielle:
things like that will always be needed with superannuation claims and certainly

362
00:26:56,210 --> 00:27:00,530
Danielle:
with probate applications for when we need to apply to the court to have the

363
00:27:00,530 --> 00:27:07,450
Danielle:
will validated before the executor can even act so just having original documents on hand because,

364
00:27:08,150 --> 00:27:10,930
Danielle:
you know having that conversation with a loved

365
00:27:10,930 --> 00:27:13,850
Danielle:
one before they pass away is a whole lot easier than having to

366
00:27:13,850 --> 00:27:17,670
Danielle:
try and turn the house upside down to find those documents or

367
00:27:17,670 --> 00:27:23,430
Danielle:
having to apply to birth deaths and marriages for you know copies of those so

368
00:27:23,430 --> 00:27:30,790
Danielle:
you know I think just those really simple things having as an executor your

369
00:27:30,790 --> 00:27:33,950
Danielle:
eyes across what bank accounts exist.

370
00:27:35,510 --> 00:27:38,570
Danielle:
Who the who your loved one has their insurance

371
00:27:38,570 --> 00:27:41,750
Danielle:
policies with you know having the account numbers

372
00:27:41,750 --> 00:27:45,290
Danielle:
handy you know who are their utility providers so

373
00:27:45,290 --> 00:27:48,710
Danielle:
really just gathering everything that

374
00:27:48,710 --> 00:27:51,690
Danielle:
you could potentially need to have

375
00:27:51,690 --> 00:27:54,690
Danielle:
to address or notify in advance having it

376
00:27:54,690 --> 00:27:57,870
Danielle:
in a little folder obviously Catherine your checklist is

377
00:27:57,870 --> 00:28:01,470
Danielle:
gold because you you itemize all

378
00:28:01,470 --> 00:28:04,410
Danielle:
of that from A to Z and it's nitty-gritty so there's

379
00:28:04,410 --> 00:28:07,450
Danielle:
really nothing that can be missed because really having

380
00:28:07,450 --> 00:28:11,350
Danielle:
to try and find all of that documentation and locate

381
00:28:11,350 --> 00:28:17,750
Danielle:
which banks and accounts and passwords and email addresses exist once someone's

382
00:28:17,750 --> 00:28:23,530
Danielle:
passed away it's just adding another layer to the already difficult time that

383
00:28:23,530 --> 00:28:24,410
Danielle:
you're experiencing

384
00:28:24,410 --> 00:28:30,250
Catherine:
and you know we haven't even discussed the funeral No.

385
00:28:31,270 --> 00:28:37,810
Catherine:
So this is all in addition to organising a funeral, whether that's something

386
00:28:37,810 --> 00:28:42,390
Catherine:
you want to be actively involved in or that's something that you get support

387
00:28:42,390 --> 00:28:44,770
Catherine:
from, from a funeral director, et cetera.

388
00:28:44,950 --> 00:28:47,570
Catherine:
So there's so much, isn't there?

389
00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:51,770
Danielle:
And I think people's first thoughts naturally go to the funeral,

390
00:28:52,670 --> 00:28:55,390
Danielle:
which is generally, yeah, the priority.

391
00:28:55,570 --> 00:29:00,650
Danielle:
That's natural. But then where it really hits home is when the funeral director

392
00:29:00,650 --> 00:29:05,350
Danielle:
delivers the death certificate to you and all the ashes, you know,

393
00:29:05,630 --> 00:29:07,950
Danielle:
you realise, like, I've got this death certificate.

394
00:29:08,570 --> 00:29:13,710
Danielle:
Now, what do I do? And maybe, as I said, you'll get given a list of organisations to notify.

395
00:29:13,930 --> 00:29:19,690
Danielle:
But for me, it was basically just a piece of paper with a whole long list of things that I had to do.

396
00:29:19,690 --> 00:29:26,370
Danielle:
But I didn't want to do them because I was trying to care for my mum full time

397
00:29:26,370 --> 00:29:30,330
Danielle:
and navigate COVID and I was trying to grieve.

398
00:29:30,570 --> 00:29:35,310
Danielle:
So whilst the list of organisations to notify is somewhat helpful,

399
00:29:35,310 --> 00:29:39,650
Danielle:
it's just another piece of paper. And it often doesn't have the phone numbers

400
00:29:39,650 --> 00:29:42,850
Danielle:
or the websites or where on the website to navigate to.

401
00:29:43,210 --> 00:29:47,430
Danielle:
So you sort of, yeah, running blind through the process.

402
00:29:47,790 --> 00:29:52,230
Danielle:
And I honestly believe that's why it's taking people hundreds of hours,

403
00:29:52,230 --> 00:29:53,770
Danielle:
because there's no clear roadmap.

404
00:29:54,910 --> 00:30:00,090
Catherine:
And I think it's also that added pressure that we had, and you may have had

405
00:30:00,090 --> 00:30:04,890
Catherine:
something similar when your father died, that, you know, when Roland died,

406
00:30:04,910 --> 00:30:08,570
Catherine:
he was living in a rental apartment in St Kilda Road.

407
00:30:08,910 --> 00:30:14,630
Catherine:
And so we had to be really mindful of the time, because each day,

408
00:30:14,630 --> 00:30:18,930
Catherine:
each week, it was actually effectively costing the family money to pay rent

409
00:30:18,930 --> 00:30:21,070
Catherine:
for his belongings still in the apartment.

410
00:30:21,850 --> 00:30:26,010
Catherine:
And so that was just another thing to navigate.

411
00:30:26,450 --> 00:30:29,690
Catherine:
And so do you work with other organisations?

412
00:30:29,950 --> 00:30:34,490
Catherine:
So you specifically look at the administration side of things.

413
00:30:34,730 --> 00:30:38,690
Catherine:
And then do you tap into other organisations? Like I know for us,

414
00:30:38,850 --> 00:30:44,690
Catherine:
we ended up having to, we contacted three auction houses to come and give us

415
00:30:44,690 --> 00:30:49,690
Catherine:
a quote on clearing all of the contents that wasn't wanted by family and friends.

416
00:30:49,690 --> 00:30:53,230
Catherine:
Do you work with other organisations like that, Danielle?

417
00:30:53,420 --> 00:30:59,990
Danielle:
Yeah, so part of my service offering is to connect families with very carefully

418
00:30:59,990 --> 00:31:03,550
Danielle:
curated professionals and experts in various industries.

419
00:31:03,550 --> 00:31:09,970
Danielle:
So I've been working to build a network of professionals that I've either worked

420
00:31:09,970 --> 00:31:15,330
Danielle:
with and used myself or have a close affiliation with so that I can hand on

421
00:31:15,330 --> 00:31:17,290
Danielle:
heart make that referral,

422
00:31:17,630 --> 00:31:20,530
Danielle:
because that's another thing that took up so much of my time.

423
00:31:20,670 --> 00:31:24,930
Danielle:
It was the researching who to use for property, conveyancing,

424
00:31:25,350 --> 00:31:28,790
Danielle:
probate, financial planning, accounting, grief counselling matters,

425
00:31:29,010 --> 00:31:30,430
Danielle:
you know, all of that takes time.

426
00:31:30,730 --> 00:31:34,810
Danielle:
So for me, this network that I've built is at a national level.

427
00:31:35,010 --> 00:31:41,410
Danielle:
It then stems down state by state, city by city, and it's even starting to grow now.

428
00:31:41,990 --> 00:31:46,550
Danielle:
You know, township by township, suburb by suburb because people,

429
00:31:47,050 --> 00:31:52,010
Danielle:
you know, we can be parochial and also if there are mobility issues,

430
00:31:52,010 --> 00:31:58,470
Danielle:
I always like to try and connect my clients with someone located geographically in proximity because,

431
00:31:59,030 --> 00:32:04,550
Danielle:
you know, a lot of the professionals that I refer will actually come to the

432
00:32:04,550 --> 00:32:07,430
Danielle:
home of the person that's lost a loved one.

433
00:32:07,900 --> 00:32:12,280
Danielle:
Because, yeah, it can be quite difficult for people with mobility issues to

434
00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:13,760
Danielle:
get to those support services.

435
00:32:14,260 --> 00:32:21,000
Danielle:
So I've done all the groundwork to be able to refer with confidence to declutterers

436
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:23,720
Danielle:
and, as I said, property experts and conveyances.

437
00:32:24,060 --> 00:32:29,680
Danielle:
And I'm sort of liaising with those experts and my client throughout the process

438
00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:34,600
Danielle:
because I still want it to feel like I'm that main person that they're dealing

439
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:40,420
Danielle:
with because I think the least people that you can deal with in a time of grief is helpful.

440
00:32:41,020 --> 00:32:45,300
Danielle:
So I still remain that sort of one point of contact, middleman,

441
00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:51,880
Danielle:
advocate for my clients, but they can rest assured that who I've sort of connected

442
00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:55,780
Danielle:
them with and partnered them with will advocate for them too.

443
00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:59,780
Catherine:
And that's how we met, wasn't it? We are both

444
00:32:59,780 --> 00:33:03,100
Catherine:
affiliate members of the Australian Funeral Directors

445
00:33:03,100 --> 00:33:06,040
Catherine:
Association and I think I've spoken

446
00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:09,260
Catherine:
here on the podcast previously about the fact that I've

447
00:33:09,260 --> 00:33:12,480
Catherine:
joined numerous industry associations to ensure

448
00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:15,540
Catherine:
that when we also refer you're referring to

449
00:33:15,540 --> 00:33:18,460
Catherine:
someone who can you be found

450
00:33:18,460 --> 00:33:23,140
Catherine:
in the local area but is a member of an industry association so you get that

451
00:33:23,140 --> 00:33:28,960
Catherine:
sort of quality assurance from that membership so that's how we met and

452
00:33:28,970 --> 00:33:29,680
Danielle:
we live

453
00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:35,500
Danielle:
by code of ethics and it's very well governed and you know you're not accepted

454
00:33:35,500 --> 00:33:38,100
Danielle:
into that membership lightly so yeah.

455
00:33:38,900 --> 00:33:44,540
Catherine:
Danielle, you mentioned that you're across Australia and you go down to an even

456
00:33:44,540 --> 00:33:47,720
Catherine:
very local level in regional areas.

457
00:33:48,180 --> 00:33:52,840
Catherine:
So how does that work? It's a referral system that you were saying?

458
00:33:53,430 --> 00:33:59,420
Danielle:
Yeah, so I mean, people will tend to find me through, I guess,

459
00:33:59,500 --> 00:34:02,280
Danielle:
a funeral director that they've been liaising with.

460
00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:05,560
Danielle:
Sometimes people will be

461
00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:08,620
Danielle:
speaking with a probate lawyer and the probate lawyers

462
00:34:08,620 --> 00:34:11,660
Danielle:
will be able to make the applications to the courts for

463
00:34:11,660 --> 00:34:14,420
Danielle:
them but may not actually then want

464
00:34:14,420 --> 00:34:20,540
Danielle:
to take on all of that sort of lower level form filling phone call making notification

465
00:34:20,540 --> 00:34:27,840
Danielle:
process so I'll often receive a lot of inquiries there but I suppose from wherever

466
00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:32,240
Danielle:
you're coming from I offer a one-hour complimentary consultations.

467
00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:36,980
Danielle:
And in that consultation, we go through the list of 40 different items that

468
00:34:36,980 --> 00:34:38,180
Danielle:
could need to be addressed.

469
00:34:38,200 --> 00:34:45,020
Danielle:
And then we tailor and customise what that plan would look like for an executor or family member.

470
00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:51,060
Danielle:
And from there, really, the beauty of that is that a family member or executor

471
00:34:51,060 --> 00:34:54,440
Danielle:
can see what the commitment actually looks like for them.

472
00:34:54,600 --> 00:35:00,640
Danielle:
And some families may only need to tackle five things on that list for a very simple estate.

473
00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:05,040
Danielle:
Some may not need probate. There may not be a superannuation claim,

474
00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:09,580
Danielle:
but then some families may need to touch on all 40 items.

475
00:35:09,860 --> 00:35:16,040
Danielle:
So yeah, that consultation is just so helpful in terms of being able to shine

476
00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:17,840
Danielle:
a light on what the commitment looks like.

477
00:35:17,940 --> 00:35:24,020
Danielle:
And again, it comes back to capacity, giving an executor a choice as to how

478
00:35:24,020 --> 00:35:31,960
Danielle:
much of this do I want to take on or can I engage with Danny to share the load or take it on for me.

479
00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:37,440
Danielle:
And so then at a national level, we're able to identify if you do need probate,

480
00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:39,020
Danielle:
great, which state are you based in?

481
00:35:39,040 --> 00:35:43,260
Danielle:
Because every state is mandated differently, conveyancing is done differently.

482
00:35:43,820 --> 00:35:49,620
Danielle:
And it's really about, yeah, connecting people appropriately with the expertise

483
00:35:49,620 --> 00:35:52,580
Danielle:
and services that they would benefit from.

484
00:35:52,900 --> 00:35:56,580
Danielle:
So really after the consultation, there's no obligation to engage with me.

485
00:35:56,700 --> 00:36:00,180
Danielle:
I must say that I've never had anyone walk away with the list and say,

486
00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:01,360
Danielle:
thanks, I'll do it myself.

487
00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:05,540
Danielle:
It's, oh my goodness, I had no idea there was all of this stuff to do. Please help me.

488
00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:08,200
Danielle:
But it really is just about education

489
00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:14,000
Danielle:
and giving people the opportunity to understand once I'm in knee deep,

490
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:20,760
Danielle:
it can be really hard to navigate to the end and do I have 12 months to do this

491
00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:24,180
Danielle:
because I've never done it before and I don't really know the path of least

492
00:36:24,180 --> 00:36:27,400
Danielle:
resistance so yeah the consultation's really helpful in that regard.

493
00:36:28,230 --> 00:36:33,450
Catherine:
And it must be also really helpful for people to understand what you can assist

494
00:36:33,450 --> 00:36:37,910
Catherine:
them with and then what they will need to get legal advice for or they'll need

495
00:36:37,910 --> 00:36:42,630
Catherine:
to get an accountant for or a financial advisor or whatever.

496
00:36:42,870 --> 00:36:47,770
Catherine:
Because if you go the flip side and you go to a lawyer first,

497
00:36:47,770 --> 00:36:49,610
Catherine:
it's going to be a lot more expensive, isn't it?

498
00:36:49,620 --> 00:36:50,630
Danielle:
It can be.

499
00:36:50,810 --> 00:36:56,690
Danielle:
And I think that there's a lot of considerations financially that people don't

500
00:36:56,690 --> 00:37:03,570
Danielle:
necessarily realise. And that's, for example, a superannuation death claim.

501
00:37:04,070 --> 00:37:11,450
Danielle:
So, if you are currently receiving a pension or a Centrelink entitlement,

502
00:37:11,550 --> 00:37:18,490
Danielle:
and there's a $300,000 superannuation benefit payable to you because you are

503
00:37:18,490 --> 00:37:19,910
Danielle:
the nominated beneficiary?

504
00:37:20,210 --> 00:37:27,490
Danielle:
Do you understand that there could be implications around your Centrelink entitlements?

505
00:37:27,950 --> 00:37:34,710
Danielle:
Because as we know, there's means tested entitlements dependent on your income and assets.

506
00:37:34,870 --> 00:37:38,510
Danielle:
So if you all of a sudden end up with $300,000 extra in your bank account,

507
00:37:38,690 --> 00:37:43,690
Danielle:
you might find next month your entitlement isn't paid to you.

508
00:37:43,910 --> 00:37:47,450
Danielle:
And that's really hard to undo and unwind.

509
00:37:47,770 --> 00:37:54,770
Danielle:
So, you know, connecting you with a professional and an expert.

510
00:37:55,090 --> 00:37:59,910
Danielle:
And, you know, I've even got in that financial arena, experts on self-managed

511
00:37:59,910 --> 00:38:02,670
Danielle:
super funds, on wealth creation.

512
00:38:02,670 --> 00:38:06,630
Danielle:
So, we even drill down into what

513
00:38:06,630 --> 00:38:09,650
Danielle:
specifically do we need to explore more in

514
00:38:09,650 --> 00:38:13,050
Danielle:
terms of your financial situation to make sure that we've

515
00:38:13,050 --> 00:38:16,090
Danielle:
covered off all of the tax implications and so

516
00:38:16,090 --> 00:38:20,010
Danielle:
that you're not going to find yourself worse off by

517
00:38:20,010 --> 00:38:23,410
Danielle:
accepting a payment because there's strategies

518
00:38:23,410 --> 00:38:26,670
Danielle:
around that you know can there's obviously everyone thinks

519
00:38:26,670 --> 00:38:30,390
Danielle:
let's tick the box and receive a lump sum payment but I'm

520
00:38:30,390 --> 00:38:33,550
Danielle:
very mindful of referring and recommending

521
00:38:33,550 --> 00:38:37,750
Danielle:
my clients to just have a chat with a financial planner before we sign off anything

522
00:38:37,750 --> 00:38:42,390
Danielle:
and send it back to the fund because there are other ways to to accept payments

523
00:38:42,390 --> 00:38:47,730
Danielle:
like withdrawals and re-contributions income streams and there's just ways around

524
00:38:47,730 --> 00:38:51,770
Danielle:
that and i guess again if you haven't been exposed to this before.

525
00:38:53,030 --> 00:38:57,650
Danielle:
The superannuation fund isn't going to sit there and coach you on how you may

526
00:38:57,650 --> 00:39:00,770
Danielle:
or may not wish to receive a payment. That's not their mandate.

527
00:39:01,730 --> 00:39:06,370
Danielle:
It's about understanding that there are other complexities and considerations

528
00:39:06,370 --> 00:39:11,350
Danielle:
as a beneficiary and then as the executor, you know, what do your responsibilities

529
00:39:11,350 --> 00:39:13,690
Danielle:
look like in terms of tax compliance?

530
00:39:13,690 --> 00:39:18,890
Danielle:
If you don't understand all of that and there is potentially a tax file number

531
00:39:18,890 --> 00:39:23,610
Danielle:
needed for the estate, you may need to engage a tax professional to help you

532
00:39:23,610 --> 00:39:27,370
Danielle:
through that process because the buck stops with you as the executor.

533
00:39:28,630 --> 00:39:32,250
Danielle:
And that's where I'm really passionate about connecting people with experts

534
00:39:32,250 --> 00:39:35,750
Danielle:
to lead them on that journey in the right way.

535
00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:42,030
Catherine:
Because there is that legal responsibility once you accept that role as executor, isn't there?

536
00:39:42,340 --> 00:39:48,730
Danielle:
Absolutely. And even in some states, there's a legislation requirement that

537
00:39:48,730 --> 00:39:55,850
Danielle:
you need to publish a notice to creditors where creditors are given 30 days

538
00:39:55,850 --> 00:39:58,290
Danielle:
to make claim on an estate.

539
00:39:58,290 --> 00:40:05,890
Danielle:
And then there's also in some states a requirement to publish a notice of intent to distribute.

540
00:40:05,890 --> 00:40:09,390
Danielle:
So that gives potential claimants

541
00:40:09,390 --> 00:40:12,350
Danielle:
six months in some case to

542
00:40:12,350 --> 00:40:15,230
Danielle:
make a claim on the estate so as an

543
00:40:15,230 --> 00:40:18,910
Danielle:
executor if you distribute all the assets before all

544
00:40:18,910 --> 00:40:21,990
Danielle:
of the liabilities are taken into account or before you've

545
00:40:21,990 --> 00:40:25,410
Danielle:
given ample time for potential claimants

546
00:40:25,410 --> 00:40:28,370
Danielle:
to make a claim you are

547
00:40:28,370 --> 00:40:31,230
Danielle:
responsible for that you need to

548
00:40:31,230 --> 00:40:37,790
Danielle:
basically pay that money back so again state by state is is different and so

549
00:40:37,790 --> 00:40:41,990
Danielle:
getting you in touch with a with a lawyer that specializes in wills and estates

550
00:40:41,990 --> 00:40:46,230
Danielle:
and probate is super important because they'll they'll again lead you on that

551
00:40:46,230 --> 00:40:50,270
Danielle:
journey make sure that you don't end up negligent or liable.

552
00:40:51,180 --> 00:40:54,440
Catherine:
And how does someone get in contact with you

553
00:40:54,450 --> 00:40:58,900
Danielle:
so i am available basically by

554
00:40:58,900 --> 00:41:04,520
Danielle:
email phone call i think you've got the website yeah it'll definitely be in

555
00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:06,300
Danielle:
the show notes and it's on our

556
00:41:06,620 --> 00:41:11,620
Danielle:
connect page as well yeah so just pick up the phone or flick me an email and

557
00:41:11,620 --> 00:41:16,480
Danielle:
i think just the first most important step is we just have a no obligation chat

558
00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:19,980
Danielle:
about the estate and the position that you're in.

559
00:41:20,300 --> 00:41:26,440
Danielle:
Obviously, as I said, Catherine, your checklist is gold because if anyone has

560
00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:32,800
Danielle:
worked through that checklist, by the time they get to me to do the checklist,

561
00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:39,720
Danielle:
there's everything that I could possibly need to run with and make those notifications.

562
00:41:39,720 --> 00:41:44,660
Danielle:
And we're not going to be digging for account numbers and passwords and legacies.

563
00:41:45,420 --> 00:41:49,900
Danielle:
It's kind of all there laid out. There's no breadcrumbs that we need to follow.

564
00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:56,520
Danielle:
It's a very clear and simple plan designed to make the process of dealing with

565
00:41:56,520 --> 00:42:04,380
Danielle:
after death administration more palatable because it's not easy, but it's about, I guess,

566
00:42:04,740 --> 00:42:08,920
Danielle:
removing as much of that workload as possible so that we can really primarily

567
00:42:08,920 --> 00:42:12,060
Danielle:
focus on the processing of grief and healing.

568
00:42:13,040 --> 00:42:16,080
Catherine:
And based on your own personal experience and

569
00:42:16,080 --> 00:42:19,140
Catherine:
having gone through it and then you know

570
00:42:19,140 --> 00:42:22,180
Catherine:
helping people go through it now what has

571
00:42:22,180 --> 00:42:25,420
Catherine:
been the benefit for you to out

572
00:42:25,420 --> 00:42:29,680
Catherine:
of this process you know when you look back and you reflect what are the things

573
00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:31,940
Catherine:
that you think oh man I wish I'd known that

574
00:42:31,950 --> 00:42:35,220
Danielle:
um well I might answer that in two

575
00:42:35,220 --> 00:42:40,000
Danielle:
ways the first first way I wanted to answer that was having gone through all

576
00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:44,540
Danielle:
of that grief and trauma has evolved my life,

577
00:42:44,700 --> 00:42:47,600
Danielle:
my perception on things and what's important.

578
00:42:47,980 --> 00:42:55,000
Danielle:
And firstly, what I find so rewarding is the feedback that I get from my clients

579
00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:58,840
Danielle:
around lightening the load, seeing the end of the tunnel,

580
00:42:59,420 --> 00:43:07,480
Danielle:
feeling relieved, feeling held, feeling guided and feeling understood and feeling

581
00:43:07,480 --> 00:43:11,520
Danielle:
all those things that I didn't get to feel when I was in that position.

582
00:43:11,840 --> 00:43:15,640
Danielle:
So that's been the most rewarding part for me.

583
00:43:15,820 --> 00:43:23,620
Danielle:
And I think what not only is, I suppose, my business a very new and unique concept,

584
00:43:23,620 --> 00:43:28,100
Danielle:
not many people have heard of it because it hasn't existed before.

585
00:43:28,100 --> 00:43:29,440
Danielle:
It's uncharted territory.

586
00:43:29,660 --> 00:43:39,060
Danielle:
But not only that, it's about, I guess, me turning that pain into something that can help people.

587
00:43:40,090 --> 00:43:44,910
Danielle:
More easily navigate the process that I didn't have the opportunity to navigate.

588
00:43:45,290 --> 00:43:50,870
Danielle:
So it's really important for me that executors and families understand that

589
00:43:50,870 --> 00:43:53,230
Danielle:
they do have help. They do have support.

590
00:43:53,430 --> 00:43:58,650
Danielle:
There is help out there now and they don't have to do it alone and there is an easier way to do it.

591
00:43:58,790 --> 00:44:02,670
Danielle:
So that would be probably the first part of the question.

592
00:44:03,110 --> 00:44:11,050
Danielle:
And then I guess just like the tips and tricks for me were really around a lot

593
00:44:11,050 --> 00:44:15,330
Danielle:
of the financial piece of being a beneficiary.

594
00:44:15,850 --> 00:44:20,030
Danielle:
And, you know, also if you know that a loved one is going to pass away,

595
00:44:20,290 --> 00:44:25,650
Danielle:
it's having conversations with a financial planner because, as we know,

596
00:44:25,830 --> 00:44:29,350
Danielle:
we have to pay tax as a beneficiary on a super benefit.

597
00:44:29,350 --> 00:44:33,790
Danielle:
But if that money can be withdrawn and put into another account,

598
00:44:33,790 --> 00:44:37,450
Danielle:
it can be exempt from taxes so it's

599
00:44:37,450 --> 00:44:40,890
Danielle:
really I guess good to

600
00:44:40,890 --> 00:44:43,610
Danielle:
know that there are a lot of great people out there that will be

601
00:44:43,610 --> 00:44:47,630
Danielle:
in your corner to help you understand

602
00:44:47,630 --> 00:44:53,210
Danielle:
all of the considerations and implications so that you don't find yourself 12

603
00:44:53,210 --> 00:44:58,430
Danielle:
or 18 months down the track in a financial position that's worse off so I think

604
00:44:58,430 --> 00:45:04,690
Danielle:
for me yeah so so many of the things I've learned have been around illegal ramifications,

605
00:45:04,990 --> 00:45:06,230
Danielle:
financial ramifications.

606
00:45:06,630 --> 00:45:11,530
Danielle:
And so, yeah, they're some of the things that we talk through in the consultation as well.

607
00:45:11,650 --> 00:45:16,290
Danielle:
So before you tick and flick, you know, how's that going to affect you?

608
00:45:16,350 --> 00:45:21,490
Danielle:
So they'd be the key things that I'm grateful to have learnt and things that

609
00:45:21,490 --> 00:45:24,050
Danielle:
I want to pay forward to people too.

610
00:45:25,290 --> 00:45:28,450
Catherine:
And when you think back at that time when

611
00:45:28,450 --> 00:45:31,470
Catherine:
your dad died and then shortly thereafter

612
00:45:31,470 --> 00:45:34,530
Catherine:
your mum was there anything

613
00:45:34,530 --> 00:45:35,570
Catherine:
prepared for you

614
00:45:35,580 --> 00:45:37,510
Danielle:
yeah they were really

615
00:45:37,510 --> 00:45:44,030
Danielle:
organized actually they had folders and files and we did have conversations

616
00:45:44,030 --> 00:45:51,150
Danielle:
because of mum's neurological disorder and so there was a lot of documentation

617
00:45:51,150 --> 00:45:56,710
Danielle:
very well organized and prepared with account details and passwords so um,

618
00:45:57,540 --> 00:46:00,780
Danielle:
that definitely made it a lot easier for me.

619
00:46:00,980 --> 00:46:05,960
Danielle:
And if I could encourage anyone listening to this call to have those conversations

620
00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:10,080
Danielle:
and to download Catherine's checklist, because, you know.

621
00:46:10,960 --> 00:46:15,540
Danielle:
Some people have that mindset or once I've, once I'm gone, it doesn't matter.

622
00:46:15,660 --> 00:46:16,680
Danielle:
I don't need to deal with it.

623
00:46:17,260 --> 00:46:21,420
Danielle:
Your family needs to deal with it and your executor needs to deal with it.

624
00:46:21,760 --> 00:46:24,720
Danielle:
And it is really challenging so the

625
00:46:24,720 --> 00:46:28,000
Danielle:
biggest gift you can give them is the opportunity to

626
00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:31,300
Danielle:
plan and prepare so fortunately for

627
00:46:31,300 --> 00:46:34,820
Danielle:
me and my parents were very open in conversation and

628
00:46:34,820 --> 00:46:38,760
Danielle:
and I was their executor and power of attorney and we did talk through all of

629
00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:42,860
Danielle:
the financial implications so if I could say anything it's start having those

630
00:46:42,860 --> 00:46:48,340
Danielle:
open conversations and reach out if there's any questions that you have to myself

631
00:46:48,340 --> 00:46:53,400
Danielle:
or Catherine because yeah there's there's the pre-planning specialty in Catherine's Serena,

632
00:46:53,540 --> 00:46:56,800
Danielle:
and then I'm the AFTER administration specialty.

633
00:46:57,120 --> 00:47:00,620
Danielle:
So together we can probably answer any of the questions or concerns that you

634
00:47:00,620 --> 00:47:05,660
Danielle:
have. And if we can't, we've got really great connections that can. That's very true.

635
00:47:06,780 --> 00:47:11,360
Catherine:
Well, I would have hate to have, you know, you were fortunate,

636
00:47:11,360 --> 00:47:14,220
Catherine:
I suppose, to some degree that you had that information.

637
00:47:14,220 --> 00:47:18,540
Catherine:
I'd hate to see what it would have been like if you didn't have that information,

638
00:47:18,540 --> 00:47:22,500
Catherine:
you know. So, but it's so great, the service that you offer,

639
00:47:22,740 --> 00:47:27,100
Catherine:
that you could help navigate that whole space because it's such a difficult

640
00:47:27,100 --> 00:47:28,980
Catherine:
thing to do when you're grieving.

641
00:47:29,300 --> 00:47:30,780
Catherine:
So thank you so much, Danielle.

642
00:47:31,070 --> 00:47:31,800
Danielle:
Thanks, Catherine.

643
00:47:33,860 --> 00:47:37,580
outro:
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644
00:47:37,820 --> 00:47:39,640
outro:
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645
00:47:40,120 --> 00:47:44,700
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outro:
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