Five years ago, John Ryan was a young financial executive with a big life ahead of him, until a diagnosis rocked the ground under his, his wife’s and his children’s feet. When life became shockingly uncertain, sound planning had taken money worries out of the equation. This is his story.
June 2019
“Hey Ravi, how did the bloods look?”
“For a 37-year-old Caucasian male, there is no reason your iron should be this low. Did the blood in your stool clear up?”
“Nah, not really.”
“The chances are one in a million, but I’ll send you for a colonoscopy just to be safe.”
With that referral letter, my GP, Ravi, saved my life. The diagnosis was metastatic colon cancer, the bowel lesion was too big even for the colonoscopy to get past! There was also cancer well entrenched in the liver as well as different locations around the body within lymph nodes.
My personal team of life-saving angels (Dr Tom Van Hagen, Prof Cameron Platell and Prof Luc Delriviere) got to work and are the only reason I am still here today.
Luc said to me early on, “this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint, John”. I’m so glad he said that as I was trying to find a quick fix. But as you know, the quick fix doesn’t exist, and to get anywhere near a fix is not guaranteed.
I had walked out of the office on a Thursday to prepare for a colonoscopy on Friday and didn’t return to the office for a year.
Phase one, the mountain climbing stage of the marathon.
That 12 months was filled with three surgeries, six months of chemotherapy, and a lot of sleep. At the end of it all, I was declared cancer-free and began my path to being normal again.
Phase two of the marathon began.
Throughout my interactions with various medical professionals, I realised that by the time I received my diagnosis, the opportunity to organise my financial affairs had largely slipped away. At that critical juncture, spending time with my children and wife took precedence over perfecting anything on the financial front.
After my diagnosis, I could no longer apply for more insurance, nor would I have had the mental bandwidth to plan for my family’s financial security in my absence.
Reflecting on this, I am profoundly grateful for having done much of the work earlier in my career. Knowing that my financial affairs were mostly in order provided immense relief, allowing me to focus on what was most important – time with family and doing anything to assist recovery before the next round of treatment. It becomes an all-consuming pattern.
Was my financial safety net perfect? Definitely not. I hadn’t stayed on top of what would be needed financially if something happened to me. I did this for other people every single day – just not myself!
Fortunately, having somewhat of a financial safety net was enough to circumvent any financial burden on my family during our most vulnerable moments. It granted me a sense of liberation and peace so I could focus on me.
So, having gone through this, what should be done before the unforeseen occurs?
1. Simplify your financial complexity
Let’s start by approaching your financial affairs with the same precision and thoroughness you apply in your medical practice and clean up any loose ends.
This might involve tracking down old super funds or unclaimed money, consolidating high-interest loans into lower-interest facilities, or selling speculative share portfolios that have been sitting in the bottom drawer, hoping they will “come good one day.”
Streamlining your finances and addressing them with the same diligence you apply to patient care, will significantly ease the burden on those who will manage your affairs in your absence, as well as provide peace of mind for you and your loved ones.
2. Secure your legacy
Studies routinely show that at least 50% of people haven’t prepared a will, and instead, leave it up to a formula set by the State government to determine the division of their assets. This makes it a more complicated and expensive process for your family to navigate, and for many doctors, not proactively structuring your estate results in the loss of multi-generational tax savings that are available.
It may also increase the probability of your estate being challenged, particularly in blended family situations.
Thinking through all the issues, having open conversations and clearly documenting your intentions will ensure that one of the last memories you leave for your family isn’t a negative one.
3. Eliminate financial worry
It’s true that insurance is a topic that most of us love to hate. What’s also true is that when it does pay out, the impact for a family who is navigating a terminal illness diagnosis is lifechanging. For example, I had a trauma payment deposited into my bank account within two weeks of diagnosis. That is ‘breathe easy’ money.
One of the first things I was asked by one of the supporting clinical nurses was whether I had income protection insurance. She gave a sigh of relief when I said yes. Work was just not physically possible during the acute phases of treatment.
4. Enable financial continuity
Having the right team of advisers working alongside you can help you and your family navigate one of the most challenging times they will face.
While you will never be replaced, having someone you can trust to outsource the responsibility and oversight of managing your financial affairs, before or after a health event occurs, allows you to focus on the things that are most important to you.
It is not lost on me how lucky I am, and I must attribute some of that luck to having the headspace to focus 100% on the amazing healing capabilities of the body. You cannot do that if you have financial tasks or worry creeping in.
My final encouragement for you? Take control of your financial future today.
Simplify your financial complexity, secure your legacy, eliminate financial worry, and enable financial continuity. By doing so, you not only protect your loved ones but also grant yourself the freedom to focus on life’s most important moments.
Coming from a place of integrity, please don’t wait. Start planning now to ensure peace of mind for you and your family.
John Ryan is a Senior Wealth Adviser at Capital Partners Private Wealth. You can contact John at jryan@capital-partners.com.au