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The Elliot Family's Life Plan
As the parents of three –twins aged 9 and a son just entering private high school—Dan and Kate Elliot face trying times since agreeing to take in their infirmed, recently widowed father. They are renovating part of their home for Grandad’s living quarters with funds borrowed against their mortgage. The short-term stresses of creating a Granny Flat, while not without financial impact, were the right choice given that Dan is a self-employed builder. Their household income is ample but they struggle to find an even keel for everyday expenses while planning their future. Kate is reluctant to take full-time work because of the care her father and children need.
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The Elliot Family's Action Plan
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The family commitment to look after Grandad is honourable and not without certain financial advantages given that the Elliots will look after the sale of their grandparent’s home. Or so they thought. After speaking with their lawyer, they realised a financial adviser would give them the perspective they needed to face the number of Investment options ahead of them. Namely, they evaluated the benefit of having Grandad ‘gift’ his home to the children in trust and whether its sale or rental potential would cover tuition fees. They discussed gearing to enhance growth, extra repayments on their home loan in case of situations requiring redraw and recognised their own need for Estate Planning. Kate was able to look into how a Carer’s Allowance could augment her current part-time earnings. They covered important issues of Insurance to make sure both Dan and Kate were adequately insured given their increased responsibilities. At the same time, a Super check-up helped Dan consolidate a few years of contributions from old jobs and invest in the right Super fund for low-risk wealth-creation.
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