Why you should involve your children in financial planning

Sponsored feature | By Michael Bretherick, chartered financial planner, Gibbs Denley Financial & Investment Advisers

Over the next 30 years the ‘baby boomer’ generation is set to transfer a huge amount of wealth to their children and grandchildren, many of whom will be inheriting substantial sums at a relatively young age.

To help them make sound financial decisions in the future, you can involve them in your financial planning while they are still young, providing them with a solid financial education.

A lack of understanding of key concepts is a major barrier to people seeking financial advice, or investing, almost certainly leaving them worse off over the course of their life. By gifting modest sums into a pension or ISA for them at an early stage, for example, you can allow them to engage with concepts such as long-term investing and diversification of investments, helping them to gain an understanding of stock market volatility.

Losing a parent or grandparent is a very difficult time. You can make handling financial affairs much less stressful by keeping a folder in a safe place, enclosing copies of your will and power of attorney (if you have one), along with details of your investments and savings, and contact details for any professional advisers.

This is particularly important if they may be called on to make decisions on your behalf in the future under a power of attorney. Involving them in your wider financial planning can help to ensure that they have a good understanding of your circumstances and the issues which are important to you.

This in turn will allow them, in their role as executor or trustee on your will - and with the help of professional advisers - to make sound decisions from a tax or investment point of view, helping them to manage their own financial affairs and reassuring you that you’ve prepared them well.

gibbsdenley.co.uk