Hello,

 

My name is Colin Barrett, and I am the owner and director of Peritum Wills.

 

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life,” is a famous quote from the Chinese philosopher Confucius.

 

While we would all love to turn our passions into careers, reality often has other plans.

 

I, for one, lacked the talent to make a fortune playing football, rugby, or singing - my childhood dreams! Instead, my career path led me into financial services in my late teens, beginning with a couple of years at a large insurance company, before, at the age of 21, I joined the financial giant Prudential as a life insurance agent. At the time, I thought it would likely be very short-term because, honestly, I couldn't imagine anything more boring!
 

Looking back, 21-year-old me knew very little about the nature and importance of life insurance and even less about the breadth of financial services. While my time at "The Pru" was indeed brief - just one year - it led me to join another financial services giant, Legal & General as a broker consultant.

 

Five years later, I became an independent financial adviser, a role that allowed me to explore the industry more deeply.  Since then, I have spent my entire career in the financial services and investment marketplace.

 

In recent years however, I have chosen to specialise in estate planning.

 

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It's a great question; the answer, in a way, is slightly embarrassing.

 

As a financial adviser, I conducted hundreds, probably well over a thousand, of client fact-finding meetings. Each time, the question "Do you have a will?" came up. Back in my twenties, like many advisers at that age, I considered wills and estate planning to be dull and something clients would deal with when they were older. If a client didn't have a will, I would simply refer them to a local solicitor.

 

It wasn't until much later, in 2012, that I realized how wrong I had been to overlook this crucial aspect of financial planning. While purchasing a financial services franchise, I attended an induction course where two out of the four days were dedicated to estate planning. Those two days were eye-opening, to say the least. I quickly became passionate about helping clients secure their legacies, realising that most wills do not actually guarantee that an estate will end up in the right hands. Simply having a will is often not enough.

 

Since that pivotal moment, I have devoted increasing time and effort to ensuring my clients benefit from comprehensive estate planning. My focus is not only on protecting their assets but also on leveraging my wider financial planning experience to minimize inheritance tax and maximize what can be passed on to their loved ones.

 

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Estate planning is essential for everyone, but business owners face additional complexities. Whether in sole proprietorships, partnerships, or multi-shareholder limited companies, the stakes are higher and the challenges greater. Having been a sole trader, a partner, and a director/shareholder in several businesses myself, I understand these challenges firsthand.

 

My experience enables me to help business owners not only secure the best value for their families but also implement smooth succession plans that ensure business continuity and place control of their business in the right hands.

 

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We have all no doubt seen TV shows that highlight family disputes over inheritance ("Battle of Wills," "Can't Take It With You," to name a couple). These cases continue to emerge because so many wills are poorly drafted or lack clarity. Without proper planning, families often find themselves embroiled in costly legal battles at a time of grief.

 

A well-structured estate plan ensures that your wishes are clearly documented and legally sound. By doing this proactively, you can protect your loved ones from unnecessary stress and financial strain.

 

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In 2023, I experienced my own "annus horribilis," losing four close family members in just six months. Three of them had assets to leave behind, and I witnessed firsthand how much smoother the process is when estate planning has been done correctly.

 

The most personal of these losses was my wife, who passed away after a short battle with cancer. Just weeks before her diagnosis, we had updated our wills following the deaths of three other family members. Had we not acted quickly, my wife would have been considering making decisions about the necessary changes at a time when she was feeling very unwell, or worse, she might have abandoned the process altogether. Instead, we had the peace of mind that everything was in order, allowing her to focus on spending precious time with loved ones.

 

This experience reinforced for me the importance of making estate plans while you are healthy and able to consider your options carefully. If you think you have plenty of time—trust me, there really is no time like the present.

 

The challenges of 2023 perhaps understandably strengthened my passion and commitment to helping others create effective, robust estate plans. It is a mission I intend to carry on for as long as I possibly can.

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