The Estate Planner’s Podcast

That Dirty Word

In this episode we take a look at a client scenario and how to help them to overcome the irrational and illogical reasons not to put the right planning in place. It addresses one of the most important skills that any professional needs.

Funeral Directions

This episode looks at the inclusion of funeral directions in the will. Why is it more important that many will writers give it credit for? What can be included? What it the best way to introduce the subject to get a thorough answer?

Marley v Rawlings (2014)

The central point of this case was in an error made that resulted in a married couple signing each other's wills instead of their own. Whilst it was a seemingly simple error, the resulting legal problems eventually were resolved in law by the Supreme Court. This episode takes a look at what the Court decided and how they came to their decision.

The Noisy Client

This episode takes a look at how you can handle those clients that are overly and irrationally critical of your service. When is it best to simply refund the client and walk away? How can you identify which clients will never be satisfied, no matter how much you do to help them? And what can you do to resolve the complaints from clients that are open to remedy?

King v King 2023

This episode explores the very recent case of King v King which centered around which of two brothers could administer the estate of their deceased father. It highlights important issued relating to the choices of executor when we are taking instructions from clients.

STEP Provisions - Third Edition

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) has released its third edition of the the STEP Provisions. This episode gives a broad overview of the Standard and the Special Provisions as well as looking at what changes have been made from the second edition.

Advance Directives

In this episode, we take a look at the value of a well-written Advance Directive and how this can be used alongside a Lasting Power of Attorney for Health & Welfare. We dispel a couple of myths about AD's and also see two other common uses for this document which are not to do with life-sustaining treatment.

Presenting the Property Protection Trust

This episode looks at the presentation of the Property Protection Trust in a will. It covers five specific tips including when to introduce the concept, how to align it to the client's estate planning goals, what can make the PPT be more real for the client, how to deal with the price and an very effective way of explaining the difference between joint tenants and tenants in common.

Clitheroe v Bond (2022)

In this episode we take a look at the 2022 case of Clitheroe v Bond that established whether the correct test for testamentary capacity was the Banks v Goodfellow test or the Mental Capacity Act 2005 test. In addition to this central point we also look at some of the other aspects to the case that we can learn from when taking instructions from clients, especially when there are contentious elements to those instructions.

Something Can Be Done

This episode's topic deals with those occassions in business when we seem to be facing a threat that feels insurmountable. It is during those times that we can become stressed and it is important to focus on what can be done, rather than what can't be done. Something can always be done to put you at cause rather than at effect.