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Intensive care episode generates tool
John Wilkinson
A heart attack gave financial services consultant Eddie Lees his latest idea – a practical estate planning tool that collates a family’s financial information.
Lees has formed New Sorted, which is a software program that an adviser can use to collect a client’s financial information and then produce a detailed report that can be handed to the person dealing with the deceased’s estate.
“It occurred to me when I was in intensive care that my dear wife had no idea about all of our financial matters,” he said.
“In order to find out these details she would need to find at least five ‘storage places’ where I had deposited important documents and financial information.”
Lees said after leaving hospital he collected all the information and put it in a pilot’s case and handed it over to his accountant for safekeeping.
“A few days later my accountant rang me and [asked if I] could do the same for some of his clients, he reckoned he had about 2,000 clients that needed the service.
“It subsequently occurred to me that financial advisers should offer such a service, making it a platform for estate planning, supported by a software program that collates all the information into a report that can be updated during annual reviews.”
The software outlines where documents such as birth certificates, insurance policies, title deeds, investment details and PIN numbers are stored.
The report also includes details of assets and liabilities, either individually or jointly owned, as well as insurance policy details, superannuation and who to contact.
“The role of the financial adviser is to be the facilitator,” Lees said.
“The client is actually asked to provide all the original documentation from a checklist and it is entered into the software program, while the actual documents are then filed in a strong, durable, portable and fire-resistant case, which the client keeps at home.”
Currently, 35 financial advisers around Australia are using the service, and Lees has put an upper limit of about 150 on the number that can use the software for the next two years.
“I want to maintain high levels of service, which I would not be able to do if the numbers grew too large,” he said.
He said the client’s report should be reviewed every year and updated, which is a good excuse for getting the client to come into the adviser’s office.
4 October 2007
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