Michelle was 51 and a single parent of two children who were in their last few years of high school. She was a highly successful engineer until she recently had an unfortunate accident that injured her spine which left her unable to ever work again.

A few years prior, her husband had lost his battle with cancer and the kids lost their father. Without being able to generate an income, Michelle was worried about how she could provide for her family before her children are independent and what kind of lifestyle she could lead for herself.

Michelle was referred by a long-term client of Financial Foundations who entrusted us to manage their financials and to provide ongoing support for many years. Michelle needed someone trustworthy that can help relieve some of the burden and decision making so she can focus on herself and her family. Having seen the advice and support her friends have had, she felt comfortable in coming to us for advice.

The most important thing was to identify what Michelle’s needs and objectives were, how much income was needed to put her children through their last remaining years of school and how much the family needed to live relatively comfortably for the longer term. Based on her existing assets, we analysed several scenarios before putting a plan in place so an informed decision can be made that bests suit her.

We helped her make a total and permanent disability claim from her personal insurances. Along with her insurance proceeds, we provided a solution for her superannuation funds plus the remaining life insurance proceeds from her late husband. We compared retaining her existing investment property for rental income and potential growth, with investing in other assets to see which option was suitable for her in generating a sufficient level of income that will meet the family’s needs.

After going through the advice process and showing her positive outcomes, Michelle felt secure knowing that she will be able to provide for her children until they become young adults and that she will be able to generate sufficient income to support herself for the rest of her life.

Once a plan was in place, she had less anxiety and was no longer overwhelmed with the decision making.

She is comforted in knowing that she has access to a team that can take care and support her financial decisions so she can focus on herself and her children.