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- Helping Sue and her family find financial confidence after loss
When Sue in her late 60s lost her husband, she found herself standing at the centre of a financial landscape that now felt complex and daunting.
In her late 60s and living in the Wiltshire countryside, Sue’s husband had always taken the lead on managing the estate of their high-net-worth family: a mixture of property, land, investments, trusts, family business and investment companies worth over £20 million.
While Sue had been involved and aware, she had never been the one to hold the reins. Now, those reins were hers, and the weight of responsibility came at a time when she was most vulnerable. There were estate accounts, tax deadlines and legal documents she didn’t fully understand. Financial decisions she didn’t feel ready to make and amid the quiet weight of grief caused anxiety and sleepless nights, constant worry, and a deep sense of overwhelm.
Living in her much-loved rural home, she was surrounded by her adult children, close friends and her loyal dog. But beneath the surface, the family was still very much in mourning. Her children were dealing with their own grief while balancing careers, young families, and the emotional weight of losing their father. In those early months, grief sometimes gave way to frustration. Conversations turned tense. Disagreements over the right way forward surfaced. At a time when unity was most needed, they found themselves navigating sibling conflict and competing priorities. Yet, slowly, through open and honest conversations and a shared desire to do what their father would have wanted, they began to come together with one shared goal: to support Sue in the way she truly needed.
What Sue needed wasn’t just technical advice, she needed empathy, reassurance and clarity and to know that she would be financially secure. She hoped to simplify her estate, downsize to a more manageable home, make substantial gifts to her children now and put in place a tax-efficient succession plan. She wanted to honour her husband’s legacy but also step into her own with an approach that recognised her more cautious view to risk and a desire to invest in a way that left the world in a better place.
Sue had professional advisers in place, but most of them had worked closely with her husband and hadn’t taken the time to really get to know her. Their advice often felt technical, transactional and detached. What Sue longed for was different. She needed a team who would listen, understand what was important to her, and guide her patiently. People who could make the complex feel clear, who would communicate with warmth, and who could work collaboratively with her family and other existing advisers. Above all, she wanted to feel supported, not managed.
After considering several firms, Sue, her sons and her daughters chose TPO. From the very first meeting, there was a sense of ease and trust with us. Our regulated and chartered status gave Sue and her family confidence that they were in safe hands along with our breadth of family office services and experience in advising many women in similar situations. Our independent client reviews on Vouchedfor and clear, transparent fees readily available on our website, gave them further reassurance in their decision to choose us - they knew exactly what to expect, with no hidden surprises. We also made it clear that we would work collaboratively not just with Sue, but with her family and her existing professionals.
We began by listening. Really listening. We took time to understand not just her financial picture, but who Sue was. Her hopes, fears, values, and the dynamics within her family and created space for her voice, and those of her sons and daughters, to be heard.
From there, we restored clarity, order and a sense of control to her estate. This was achieved by coordinating with her legal, tax, and investment professionals and working collectively to create a collaborative professional team for Sue. Many of these relationships had lost their anchor and were working more independently of one another after her husband passed.
We supported with immediate priorities such as tax deadlines, estate accounts, and organising and setting up accessible cash for near-term needs giving Sue breathing room and reduced day-to-day stress. Together we built the foundations of a longer-term financial plan by creating a bespoke cash flow forecast to identify Sue’s “magic number,” the amount she needed to feel financially safe for life.
We conducted and coordinated with her tax and legal advisers, a thorough review of her existing tax structures, such as pensions, ISAs, trusts, and companies, and the respective investment strategies, focusing on simplification, efficiency, and alignment with her financial plan and goals.
We supported Sue through the emotional decision to sell the family home, approaching it with care, patience, and empathy. We spoke regularly, keeping her close to progress being made and updates and at the right time and with the co-ordinated guidance from her tax and legal advisers, we encouraged Sue to consider succession planning.
As a professional team, we guided and supported her through open and honest conversations with her children and immediate steps, while allowing time for longer-term decisions to naturally evolve.
We provided financial advice to each of the children and their partners, to ensure that gifts from Sue were incorporated into their own financial plans tax-efficiently and in line with their priorities.
Over time, this led to the dissolving of the trusts, capital payments to her children and the restructuring of her family companies. No pressure. No rushing. Just calm, thoughtful progress at her pace.
Today, Sue’s world feels more settled. Her financial life is no longer a source of anxiety. She feels more self-assured and confident with decision making, supported by the professional team around her. It’s something she understands better, feels in more control of, and is confident about. Her estate has been greatly simplified. Her day-to-day income is known and her financial future, secure.
Her estate and investments are more aligned with her cautious views and goals and are making a difference to the world.
She plans to pass more of the family estate to her children and is considering using some of the wealth to directly support causes close to her heart and interests.
She knows this is a journey and that there is still more to do. But importantly, she knows she doesn’t have to do it alone. She has a trusted relationship with us, a team that proactively gets in touch ahead of important deadlines or events and that she can call at any time, whether she needs advice, reassurance, or simply someone to help interpret a complicated letter.
With this clarity has come freedom. She now spends more time doing the things that bring her joy: walking her dog, gardening, going to the theatre, spending time with her grandchildren, reconnecting with friends and some fairly adventurous travelling.
Perhaps most importantly, Sue finds deep peace in knowing her sons and daughters will continue to be supported in the future. The structures we’ve helped her put in place offer clarity, fairness, and continuity. They honour her husband’s legacy while reflecting her own values.
Client names have been changed to protect their identity.
This case study is intended as illustrative purposes only, it does not constitute individual advice and should not be used to inform financial decisions.
They are based upon our understanding (at the time of advice) of current law, HM Revenue and Custom's practice, tax rates and exemptions, which are subject to change.
A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until age 55 (57 from April 2028 unless the plan has a protected pension age). The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not regulate cash flow planning, estate planning, tax or trust advice.
