Financial counselling does not exist in Ireland as far as I am aware in the form that is offered here. I offer face to face counselling which will assist you acquire perspective, realising your options and finding solutions. It is important to note that this is a financial counselling offering and no products or financial services are offered at any time.
Some of the areas I focus on:
Relationship Breakdown
The breakdown of a relationship can precipitate unnecessary financial burden and undermine the best laid financial plans. I offer the opportunity to explore your next steps and make the right decisions for you and your family.
This service may be an opportunity for individuals or partners to resolve difficult matters, particularly those involving financial affairs. I will listen, seek to understand and frame the situation, facilitating constructive communication between those in disagreement and bringing an independent view to each parties finances and respective positions and views.
The service is personal, confidential and focuses on empowering individuals to take control where they feel there are limited options or dilemmas. It is designed to remove blame, fault and guilt, and help one or both parties to find the solution that’s right and sustainable in the future.
The objective is to establish what is possible financially before anyone commences the legal process at great cost to all. In some cases, the end solution may simply be a written plan that the couple feel is fair and appropriate and that they may take to their respective legal advisors.
Mediation
I also offer a financial mediation service to couples or business partners who have decided that they have reached a point in their life or business where separation is the appropriate next step, and they now require help with the financial division of assets in a non-confrontational and equitable manner prior to the engagement of advisors. The objective is to establish the financial facts, removing issues that promote concerns of trust and produce a plan that each party can take to their respective advisors. While the advisors may still want to improve their position and check the facts, I am satisfied that a significant number of unnecessary hours can be eliminated from the later legal processes.
Wider relationships and succession planning
The planning for the distribution of assets later in life can be tortuous especially where some family members are working in the business. I can also assist you on restructuring or exiting those business relationships where the issues may be clouded by a long history together and emotions are prone to get in the way of a constructive outcome.
Indebtedness and problem loans
Many Irish citizens continue to struggle with the debts they originated before the crash of 2008. Many are living this nightmare alone due to shame. For example, many are living in family homes with interest only loans and no means to meet the lump sum repayment due in their retirement years or have restructured solutions that only push the day of reckoning into the future. This can have a draining effect on individuals and their families as it creates a constant fear for the future and as we get older our resilience to such matters weakens. This is not debt advice as I work with clients to help them gain some perspective on the situation and explore what options are available now or in the future.