Are you confused by an aspect of your money or are you seeking help with a more specific financial matter? Then please send your query to our Ask Gaynor section.
Each week we choose up to five questions for our panel of experts to answer – and publish the results on the FMWF site. Unfortunately we are unable to answer all the questions we receive or send personal replies.
To increase your chances of being chosen, please write your question carefully in simple, concise English and include any facts and figures that you feel will help us fully understand your situation.
Email: women@financialmail.co.uk
How can we afford to give up work to care for our sick child?
My little girl has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. My husband and I want to give up work so we can concentrate on caring for her in her final months. My husband is self-employed and is worried that his business will suffer, but this seems unimportant given the circumstances. We have some small savings but the money will soon run out. What benefits are we entitled to in these circumstances?
Emily, Whitstable
George Emsden, an IFA specialising in cancer and terminal illness at East London based in2 Consulting replied: Spending the maximum time with your little girl is obviously a priority but it looks like your household income may well limit this.
Do a household budget and work out how much you are likely to spend and how much is likely to come in over the next year. This will give you an indication of when your money is likely to run out.
Explore options within your husband’s business – for example, can he delegate any of his work so he is not letting his customers down?
You may be entitled to benefits. Speak to a hospital or community social worker. They can assess your situation and give you advice on benefits.
They can also help you deal with debts and will know about special funds you may be able to apply for.
Or you can contact the Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB). The CAB has experienced advisors who can help with filling out benefit forms. You can find your local CAB in the Yellow Pages or a local directory such as Thompson’s.
Check out the following link for more useful information: http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/coping-with-cancer/coping-practically/financial-support/government-benefits
My partner has died leaving my son and I seriously short of money, what can we do?
I’m at my wits end. My 13 year old son’s father has just died of prostate cancer. He was unemployed when he died and on benefits, so left no money. I am on income support and have been turned down for a community care grant. I have no money to help my son who is about to start his GCSE’s and needs things such as clothes we are desperate for beds etc. I don’t know who to ask for help, can you offer any advice? Sally, Newcastle
George Emsden, an IFA specialising in cancer and terminal illness at East London based in2 Consulting replied: if you have been turned down for a community care grant, the letter you received should have told you if an appeal against the decision was possible. If so, follow this up.
The following websites will help guide you through the benefits system.
http://www.macmillan.org.uk/HowWeCanHelp/FinancialSupport/BenefitsMadeClear.aspx
It is also worth contacting you local Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) where experienced advisors can help you fill out benefit forms.
If you are looking for beds and furniture then check out Freecycle. This non-profit organisation was set up by a group of people to keep good stuff out of landfills. Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by entering it into the search box on its website.
www.freecycle.org/group/uk/london
Which policy should I take out to financially protect me and my family if I get cancer?
A friend of mine has just been diagnosed with cancer and this has left her family struggling financially as she is the main bread-winner. While I am fit and healthy, cancer does run in my family, I am 40 and self-employed – can you recommend a policy that will protect me and my three children should the worst happen?
George Emsden, an IFA specialising in cancer and terminal illness at East London based in2 Consulting replied: There are two kinds of insurance that will provide for your children. Those that provide an income and those that provides a lump-sum. Those that provide an income can provide this if you die or cannot work. The former is called Family Income Benefit (FIB). This will provide an income if you die, for a set number of years and parents usually calculate the term depending on the age of the youngest child. So if the youngest child is 10 years old and you want to provide for them up to age 21, then you would buy FIB for 11 years.
To provide an income when you cannot work, you need Permanent Health Insurance (PHI). You work full-time and will get say 3 months full pay if you are ill for a long time. (Check your contract of employment) If your salary reduces to half after 3 month’s illness, then you would buy PHI which starts after a 3 month period and benefit would stop when you returned to work. You would normally take this out to finish at your retirement age. Don’t buy cheap annually renewable policies (sometimes called Payment Protection Insurance) sold by lenders quite often at the point of mortgage application, as insurers tend to stop writing this kind of insurance when they get too many claims.
Simple life insurance pays a Lump-sum if you die and is often the cheapest type of protection. As a minimum, it should cover the mortgage. Some insurers include Terminal Illness Benefit meaning that they will pay out of you are diagnosed with less than 12 months to live.
Critical Illness Insurance also pays a Lump-sum if you are diagnosed with a serious illness such as cancer, stroke or heart-attack. A typical policy would cover around 20 separate illnesses. It tends to be two or three times as expensive as simple life insurance referred to above. Some policies will provide a lump-sum if a child gets cancer and a payout here will not affect the main policy.
In 2007, IFA George Emsden was diagnosed with throat cancer and has now finished his treatment. Georges’ very interesting journey is written up in grisly detail in his blog www.georgeemsden.co.uk.
‘People with cancer need financial planning at least as much as anyone else and curiously, sometimes have options the rest of us don’t have, he says’.
Financial planning for people with cancer and terminal illness
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