The family law wealth team at Brewin Dolphin has grown steadily in recent years. And it’s an area they are committed to supporting.
The team believes that when an investment manager and a financial planner are combined as one service, they can help provide the best long-term outcome for clients.
Their advice is focused on helping family specialists and their clients navigate the divorce process though the often-combined service of a financial planner and investment manager.
The financial planner is a specialist in financial proceedings including the disclosure and information gathering stage. Their expertise also lies in cashflow forecasting, pensions, benefits, personal protection, tax allowances, and inheritance planning. An investment manager would typically build a client’s investment portfolio post-divorce and assist with the implementation of any pension sharing orders.
Both advisers are dedicated to helping the client achieve their long-term goals and instil confidence during a difficult time.
Recently Brewin Dolphin, with the aid of their In-House Family Law Coach Anne Dick, has created their own Scottish family law accreditation qualification which tests legal knowledge through a rigorous exam-based course.
The course ensures the advisers have a true understanding of the divorce process, are well versed in the language and terminology used in divorce proceedings and are able to align their expertise to the needs of family lawyers and their clients.
The family law experts
Both Louise Ritchie and Carrie Keenan passed the Scottish law accreditation bolstering the expertise in Brewin Dolphin’s Aberdeen office in providing family lawyers and their clients with advice before, during and after a financial settlement.
Louise has previously worked in investment banking advising a range of individuals, particularly high net worth clients and those with complex family trust arrangements. She holds the diploma in regulated financial planning.
Carrie, a Scottish law graduate with a diploma in legal practice, specialises in investment. She reviews investment portfolios, the investments held with tax wrappers such as pension schemes, ISAs or Offshore Bonds.
The specialist family law wealth team can work together with private client solicitor teams who need input in terms of client finances and with the individual’s overall financial circumstances. The team can also deal with pensions and pension sharing orders.
Are your valuations up-to-date?
With Covid-19 affecting the economy and market valuations, up-to-date valuations of financial assets on Form E are particularly important now. Brewin Dolphin can clarify disclosures on Form E, help draft instructions to single joint experts, provide alternative Duxbury forecasts and identify latent risk buried in the detail of pension fund schemes.
They are also able to provide bespoke cash-flow forecasting as part of their family law offering, which many clients and solicitors find incredibly useful.
They believe conducting a cashflow planning exercise is a very effective way of building a broader understanding of what a client’s income needs and finances might look like following a financial settlement. The analysis considers income, expenditure, capital requirements and budgets relevant to the financial settlement process and then presents the client with a number of different options and informs settlement scenarios.
Fundamentally, Brewin Dolphin’s aims are to understand clients’ personal circumstances and emotional dynamics. They want to ensure your clients are aware of the options open to them. The team also explains in simple terms complex areas such as pensions and other financial arrangements to help clients make well-informed choices. Ultimately, they want to support the most appropriate financial settlement.
The team believes they create most value when involved with solicitors and their clients from the earliest stages of proceedings. They assist with often problematic stages of financial disclosure right through to negotiation and post-settlement implementation.
About Brewin
For over 250 years Brewin Dolphin has been helping clients achieve their long-term financial goals.
They have more than 60 financial planners and over 400 wealth managers, with the majority of these having the highest professional qualifications in the industry. Nationwide, they work with over 300 law firms and 2,500 of their private clients. More and more family lawyers are seeking their advice to add proven expertise to their cases.
They are keen to build deeper relationships with local family solicitors and provide guidance on all aspects of regulated advice. Please contact us for a free introductory call to discuss you and your clients’ needs.
Disclaimers:
The value of investments can fall and you may get back less than you invested.
Please note that this document was prepared as a general guide only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. While we believe it to be correct at the time of writing, Brewin Dolphin is not a tax adviser and tax law is subject to frequent change. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances; therefore you should not rely on this information without seeking professional advice from a qualified tax adviser. Refer to Tax Thresholds in Wales and Scotland, as appropriate.
The information contained in this document is believed to be reliable and accurate, but without further investigation cannot be warranted as to accuracy or completeness.
