We recognise this is a very difficult time for you. You can inform us about a death by calling your, or the deceased’s Relationship Manager. 

If you do not know who the Relationship Manager is, you can contact us at 020 7131 4000.
We will need some documents from you to enable us to progress with handling the estate:

• Certified copy of the death certificate, and Will if there is one
• If there is no Will, the next of kin will need to apply for letters of administration
• Depending on the size of the Portfolio, we may require a Grant of Probate before we can release any of the funds 

Remember that a Power of Attorney (POA) ceases upon death. If you held a POA, then you will no longer be able to make decisions about the deceased’s account.

Grief affects us in different ways. Please speak to us about any adjustments you would like us to make for you.

What help might look like 

• Visiting you at home instead of phone or video calls, and at a time that suits you.
• Working at your pace when you need a little longer than usual to take in information or to make decisions
• If you do not usually deal with financial matters, we can adjust how we explain these matters so that they make sense to you, and we can give you time to consider the information we provide
• At your request we can include or exclude family members, friends, or professional advisers during our conversations

Separation can cause many emotions and can lead to financial uncertainty. Whatever your experience, we can help support you through this time of change.

We do our best work for clients when we are involved pre-settlement and at an early stage in the process. Our Relationship Managers and Divorce Specialists are able to help you assemble an appropriate advisory team to support you. If both parties are our clients, we will provide each of you with separate Relationship Managers.

What help might look like

• We can help you to deal with financial matters if you have not had to do so before, for example to explain in plain language what financial considerations arise from the separation
• If you would like to include others such as your Advisers or other companions in our conversations, we can accommodate this
• We can support you in revised and long-term planning to ensure your financial stability 

Severe or long-term illness can be unpredictable. People who have practical support cope more effectively with serious or long-term illness. Clients with new diagnoses tend to tell us of three primary financial worries: the financial impact of their care needs, the financial impact on their family and whether a remaining spouse / partner would be able to run financial affairs on their own. As you review and reset your life goals, we can help you to assess and manage changes to your finances and investments, at every stage. 

What help might look like

• We can meet at a time and location that best meets your needs, provided we can preserve confidentiality, such as a hospital or a care facility
• We can pause meetings, or hold a series of shorter meetings to allow you time to process the points discussed
• If your symptoms make it difficult for you to take notes or multi-task, you might want a friend, family member or professional adviser to be with you during the meeting, or we can send you a summary of our discussions after the meeting

Struggling with day-to-day matters

If you are living with a neurological condition, or are dealing with similar problems, day-to-day matters might be challenging. You might struggle with concentration, fatigue or taking in complex information. Please let us know if this is the case so that we can best accommodate your needs.

What help might look like

• You can bring someone you trust along to meetings you have with us, and ask us to include them in correspondence
• We can hold shorter meetings with you more frequently to give you time to process information
• We can slow the pace of discussion during meetings, and we can check whether the information we provide makes sense to you
• We can follow up in writing summarising what was discussed and give you extra time to respond if we have questions

You may find yourself in a position where dealing with investments, budgets and finances suddenly becomes your responsibility. Many people don’t have experience or knowledge of financial matters, so please let your Relationship Manager know if this is the case and they can take this into account. 

What help might look like

• We can connect you with one of our Financial Planners, if you do not have one, who can help you to deal with your current financial situation and plan for the future
• When we make recommendations or provide you with information, we can work at your pace to give you time to understand the information and to ask us questions if you do not understand something
• If you want to involve a friend, relative or professional adviser, then we can include them in our conversations, once you have authorised this

Supporting someone else who has an illness, a mental health problem or some other challenge that makes it difficult to function on their own, can impact on how you engage with financial matters. You might be worried about a loved one, fearful about your financial future or feel tired due to the demands of caring for someone else.

Please talk to your Relationship Manager so that they can make necessary adjustments in how they interact with you.

What help might look like

• We can work any discussions or meeting timings around your caring commitments, and we can take a break during our meetings if you feel unable to concentrate
• If you need time to consider the content of our communications, we can work around that, or leave a good amount of time between our communications so that you have time to take in the information
• We can meet at a location that works best for you, for example, your home
• The nature of our business is to help you have peace of mind financially, now and in the future. We can work out the best way to look after your financial wellbeing and any future planning necessary, particularly if you need to give up work in order to care for someone

Domestic abuse can take many forms from physical abuse to having your phone monitored, coercion and control, as well as being belittled and degraded habitually. Under circumstances like this it may be difficult to tell your Relationship Manager of your situation. Please inform your Relationship Manager if it is safe to do so. 

Actions you might find helpful

• Clear your Browsing history. Learn more at Brotowe Women's Project
• Consider changing passwords, especially for emails and bank accounts. Turn off location tracking on your phone’s settings
• Setting up your own accounts and using a PO box or alternative address for any correspondence
• Change beneficiaries on your accounts if it is safe to do

What help might look like

• Separate any joint accounts and keep your account information confidential if you hold a joint account with the abusive person, or if you have previously authorised them to access your information
• If you share an address with the abusive person, tell us so that we can send any correspondence to an alternative address
• We can call you at a time you have told us would be safe for you