denotes premium content | Nov 19 2008 
Current issue
Volume 13 Issue 6
As we go to press, economists are drawing comparisons between the current economic downturn and the Great Depression, and the collapse of Lehman brothers has just stunned the markets the world over. It is hard to feel anything but a sense of impending doom, and even harder to avoid what seems to be an inevitable recession. And it is with that thought that I introduce myself as the new editor of Elderly Client Adviser and welcome you to the September/October issue.
With the credit crunch at the forefront of everyone’s minds, drumming up business is even more essential than before. Our cover story provides a master class in the methodology behind marketing to elderly clients, and outlines some of the different approaches you can take.
As a recession looms, cost-cutting and stream-lining are also taking centre stage. While some have innovative ways of dealing with this – take the elderly couple who, in a bid to reduce their energy bills, carry out their chores between the hours of 11pm and 7am when energy prices are cheaper – others need a little guidance. We examine the challenges faced by the private-client sector and the ways in which these can be overcome.
If you are stepping up your marketing and taking measures to survive the downturn, then you must also ensure that you deliver to your clients. We examine quick and efficient estate administration, detailing the necessary steps to providing timely advice and turning the work round in an efficient manner benefiting both the clients and the firm.
Delivering to your clients also involves taking care of their well-being. Clients seem to be increasingly seeking advice on care-home contracts, and what better way to ensure their well-being than to facilitate the often distressing move into care. We examine what is involved and how you can help.
Finally, we look at FirstStop, the new free advice-service for the elderly, their carers and families. A service to which I am most grateful as in the past weeks I have received a number of calls from those who have taken Elderly Client Adviser in a literal sense. Whilst I was unable to provide the necessary advice, I was able to direct them to FirstStop and it demonstrated just how useful this unique service can be.
I would like to thank all those who have helped me with my first issue of Elderly Client Adviser. I hope that you, the readers, will appreciate their hard work as much as I have.
Joanna Lee
Editor
If there are any issues you would like to see covered or if you wish to contribute please do get in touch. Any feedback would also be very gratefully received.
Features
FirstStop – a new advice service for older people and their families and carers
There are many national advisory services. None, however, cover all the areas people need to consider as they reach the final stages of their lives – different organisations have different skills. FirstStop, an initiative of four partner organisations – Counsel and Care, Elderly Accommodation Counsel, Help the Aged and NHFA Care Fees Advice – is designed to address this issue among others.
Advising your client on care-homes contracts
Moving into a care home – even if it is a planned, not a crisis, move – is a very important decision for an older person and their family. It can have significant consequences for the older person’s quality of life, perhaps even their longevity. For many older people and their families there will be significant financial consequences if they either have to fund the care-home placement or contribute to the local authority payment by means of a ‘top-up’.
Quick and efficient estate administration: How to accelerate the process to benefit both your clients and your firm
In the current economic climate, executors run the risk of not carrying out their duty to preserve the assets of the estate for the beneficiaries. The threats at the moment are threefold:
Falling property prices; Instability in the stock market; and, Difficulties in funding inheritance tax (IHT) payments.
The economy and fear of recession: The challenges being faced by the private-client sector
At present, the problems facing law firms are rather like buses... they all come at the same time. Not only have private-client law firms had to consider the issues surrounding the de-regulation of the sector and its implications, but, over recent times, they have had to compete with claims handlers and financial institutions in their traditional areas of work – for example personal injury claims and will-making among others. They now face a further threat in the form of the credit crunch, which could be the death nail for many high-street firms.
Cover story: Marketing legal services to the grey market
Watch the film The Bucket List. In it, two sixty-something men with terminal illnesses decide to live out their wildest dreams before they die. They embark on a worldwide trip and engage in activities such as sky diving, car racing, mountain climbing and getting tattoos. It redefines the ‘grey market’, which we typically see as old and frail, and it enables us to engage with many elderly clients in a way that they are more likely to see themselves – as active members of society.
Regulars
Case digest
Bower’s Executors v. HM Revenue & Customs [2008] WTLR 987 and Taylor & Taylor v. HM Revenue & Customs (SpC00704) (2008)
In search of beneficiaries...
Eva Hancock died intestate in the house in which she was brought up. Her death certificate reported an open verdict and the informant was not even a friend or known person – a Nottinghamshire coroner produced the certificate after she was found dead.
