Don't Be Caught Dead
Welcome to Don’t Be Caught Dead - a podcast encouraging open conversations about dying and the death of a loved one. I’m your host, Catherine Ashton - Founder of Critical Info - and I’m helping to bring your stories of death back to life.
Because while you may not be ready to die, at least you can be prepared.
Don't Be Caught Dead
200 Hours of Death Admin: Why Executors Deserve More Support with Danielle Phillips
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Did you know it can take over 200 hours to manage the responsibilities of an executor?
For Danielle Phillips, losing both parents during COVID wasn’t just heartbreaking—it became a crash course in navigating the overwhelming task of estate administration.
This week, we uncover how she turned personal tragedy into Sage Executor Solutions, a lifeline for families facing the chaos after losing a loved one.
Becoming an executor is more than signing your name on a will—it’s stepping into a mountain of responsibility that can feel endless, especially when you’re grieving. In this episode, I speak with Danielle Phillips, founder of Sage Executor Solutions.
Danielle shares her personal journey of losing both parents within 15 months, managing her mother’s care, and tackling the exhaustive legal and administrative duties left behind.
From navigating MyGov’s labyrinth of links to realising that even the smallest details—like notifying the Electoral Commission—can come back to haunt you, Danielle recounts the challenges that inspired her to build a service aimed at making this process more humane.
Whether it’s creating a roadmap for executors, connecting families with trusted experts, or just lightening the emotional load, Danielle explains how proper preparation can transform chaos into clarity.
This episode is a must-listen if you’ve ever been an executor, expect to be one, or want to make things easier for your loved ones in the future. Together, let’s demystify death and ensure no one is caught unprepared.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- Why being an executor often feels like a full-time job.
- The top skills you need to consider before accepting the role of executor.
- Practical steps to lighten the load on your executor—starting now.
- How Sage Executor Solutions connects families with experts across Australia.
- The surprising complications that can arise, from insurance claims to superannuation tax implications.
- Why having a clear roadmap and checklist can save months of time and stress.
Find Our More About Sage Executors
@sageexecutorsolutions - Instagram
Are your affairs in order? Critical Info helps you organise essential documents in just 10 minutes a day. Sign up now for early access! → criticalinfo.com.au/critical-info-platform
Lost a loved one? Our guide walks you through the next steps, from the first hours to the months ahead. Download it here → criticalinfo.com.au/product/my-
Contact Catherine
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Podcast Editor: https://www.livvimusic.com/
Music composer: Ania Reynolds - https://www.aniareynolds.com/
I don't know if anyone on the call has been on the MyGov website, but there's links within links and pages within pages. And when you're dealing with grief, to have to try and comprehend all of that paperwork is pretty overwhelming. The sourcing of documentation took up most of my time and statistically it takes 200 to 300 hours for an executor to administer an estate. And I'm not surprised having done it myself because there's not really a clear roadmap. These things can absolutely blow out for months and up to a year and I was fortunate enough to take time off work and I don't have any children or dependents and it still took me 12 months. So how families with dependents and career and travel and responsibilities are doing this is beyond me. It almost becomes a full-time job.
intro:Welcome to Don't Be Caught Dead, a podcast encouraging open conversations about dying and the death of a loved one. I'm your host, Catherine Ashton, founder of Critical Info, and I'm helping to bring your stories of death back to life. Because while you may not be ready to die, at least you can be prepared. Don't Be Caught Dead acknowledges the lands of the Kulin Nations and recognises their connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nation peoples around the globe.
Catherine:Today we're speaking with Danielle Phillips, an only child and the founder of Sage Executor Solutions. Danielle realised the importance of an executor when she lost both of her parents at the age of 35 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Danielle then decided to found Sage Executor Solutions that provide support to a deceased person's family and the executor of the well. Thank you so much for being with us today, Danielle.
Danielle:Thanks, Catherine. It's great to be here. Thanks for having me.
Catherine:So tell me about that time and those challenges that you went through when in the middle of COVID you lost both your parents. Yes, it was extremely traumatic, you might say. And I just remember at the time when the pandemic was announced, looking at, I guess, seeing on the TV. There were nursing homes that were, you know, going into lockdown and families that couldn't go in and see grandparents. And I just thought, imagine being one of those people that were told you can't go and see a family member or someone that was ill or someone that was sick because of the pandemic. And I just felt so awful for those people.
Danielle:And within a month of that, I found myself pretty much in the same position. I did get a call from my dad who was taken to emergency after having some chest issues for a couple of months and doctors couldn't quite work out what was happening and so I got the call he'd gone into emergency so I jumped on a flight got there within the day and and called the emergency department to speak to the doctor and said I'm I'm on my way on the train on the way to the hospital where do I meet you and of course the response was no you can't come in the hospitals in lockdown because of COVID and they'd done a couple of scans at the hospital and found there was quite a large shadow across dad's lungs and the only option was to intubate so he could either. Try and recover in the instance that it was an infection or a pneumonia, and they had to biopsy to see whether it was potentially also a cancer. So I was basically told you can do a FaceTime with dad before he goes into ICU and say goodbye in the instance that he doesn't make it through. And my mum at this time had been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called corticobasal degeneration. And dad was her full-time carer. So she was cognitively completely 100% there, but there's a protein that overgrows in the brain and stops the signals going to the muscles. So she was very limited in her mobility. So therefore dad had to be her full-time carer. So mom and I basically at the family home had to get on a FaceTime call and say goodbye to dad in the instance he didn't recover. And within three days after the biopsy, they realized it was it was a very aggressive cancer and we were allowed into the ICU and to make the decision to turn off the ventilator. So it all happened extremely quickly in some of the most traumatic times. And I guess, you know, then I realised this is more than just about grief and loss of a parent. This is now me having to step in as dad's executor with very little help from mum because of her capacity issues whilst we were in a lockdown and mum needed full-time care. So fast forward 15 months down the track, I did bring mum back to South Australia where I live and got her into a wonderful nursing home at Helping Hand in North Adelaide. And mum did decline and eventually did pass away in the nursing home. So I was then back in the position of a mum and realised there was just very limited space and capacity for an executor who is the next of kin and family member to be able to grieve. You're just thrown into this whirlpool of time-sensitive form-filling and phone calls and really that's the last thing that you want to have to do when you've just lost a parent a sister a brother a partner or a child so I thought it was pretty inhumane and there was really no organization or support network that I could delegate anything to to give myself that space and capacity. So hence Sage Executive Solutions was born because I'm really here to step in and mobilize for families when they find themselves in the position of executor of the will or next of kin and they really just don't want to have to do all of the administration.
Catherine:And what are some of the things that you found sort of the most challenging to do in that time? Like, you know, you mentioned that you put your own life on hold, moved when you got the call from the doctor about your father and then you then had to step in as carer, as well like yeah that's a lot to have to deal with
Danielle:it's it was a lot to navigate and really during that 15 months after dad passed priority was really mum and mum's care and getting her close to me and with South Australia fortunately our borders were closed which meant that nursing homes remained open to visitors so I was able to bring mum home every day and spend quality time with her. So that was the real focus. But what I found really the most time consuming was actually. Navigating my way through the list of organisations to notify and, you know, accounts to close and even just you are in the right documentation for that because I don't know if anyone on the call has been on the MyGov website, but there's links within links and pages within pages. And when you're dealing with grief to have to try and comprehend all of that paperwork is pretty overwhelming so I actually found that just the sourcing of documentation took up most of my time and statistically it takes 200 to 300 hours for an executor to administer an estate and I'm not surprised having done it myself because there's there's not really a clear roadmap there's no chronological order in which you're kind of advised to do it so these things can absolutely blow out for months and up to a year and I actually was fortunate enough to take time off work and I don't have any children or dependents and it still took me 12 months so how families with dependents and career and travel and responsibilities are doing this is beyond me and I really feel for them to be in that position because it almost becomes a full-time job.
Catherine:Yeah, and look, that was totally my experience as well when our friend died and just that added layer of, you know, his children were American. So they didn't even understand the system in Australia, let alone what was the first step. And as you clearly said, there is no real guide, you know, at that time that could take us through those steps that were required. And that was challenging. And also, there's just so many assumptions that I found about that when you ring these services that they assume. Well, firstly, it'd be a lot challenging for Sophia if I hadn't been the one making the phone calls because they would sometimes argue with me about whether that person was deceased or not. And I'm like, no, I can assure you they are. And I'm like, I can't believe that that's what they say to someone who's ringing up to notify you that they're dead, you know, and you can't speak to them on the phone because that's impossible. You know,
Danielle:yeah, it's they're almost not listening. It's just a robotics feel that they need to go through. So when you're trying to manage this role of transactional responsibility, but be, you know, in a space of really just needing compassion, that gap can be. And I found the same when dad passed and mum, of course, was dad's executor. I was mum's power of attorney. But because of mum's neurological disorder, she couldn't speak well. She had a lot of speaking difficulties. And they would constantly say to me, we need to speak to the executor. And I would try and get them to understand, mum doesn't have capacity to speak. So you feel like you're hitting a brick wall a lot of the time. So yeah, it's emotionally very challenging.
Catherine:Wow, that is such an extra layer that you had to deal with. And what would be interesting whether you had a similar experience is that you're talking to people sometimes that don't understand what the appropriate legal documents are either. So you know in that situation that you were just talking through we know that an executor is related to a will and that happens and becomes effective after death whereas a power of attorney is something that is pre-death and you can represent that person so it you know to you and I who have a little bit of experience in this space you you can know that you were in the right. Areas to be talking and you had the appropriate permissions but a lot of people don't even have that knowledge
Danielle:no that's right and if they've not been through what we've been through the penny hasn't really dropped for them I don't think yeah and then the added complication with the fact that you Danielle are in South Australia and I am in Victoria and so our laws are different aren't they? And mum and dad's estate was pretty much in New South Wales and I'm in SA so you can imagine how many trips back and forward once the borders were open that I had to make to deal with property related matters. Fortunately COVID has evolved a lot in terms of the way we deal with probate applications to the court and we can maybe touch on what that probate is a little bit later But prior to COVID, there was no video calls with lawyers. So certain states now at least have, I guess, been able to offer people such as myself the ability to witness and certify documentation for a probate application when perhaps the executor isn't living in the estate, the state of the deceased estate. So, yeah.
Catherine:One of the good things to come out of COVID.
Danielle:One of the good things.
Catherine:Now, tell us, at what point did the penny drop for you that you thought, I think I'm going to turn this into a business?
Danielle:So for me, it was after the 12 months of being knee deep in paperwork and realizing that my time would have been so much better used if I was able to engage in some grief counseling or healing or being able to actually just settle into the reality of what had happened. Because really that ability to process things isn't afforded to you because the priority becomes administration. So I think from a human perspective, the inability for us to be able to process our loss is inhumane. And so I just thought. If I could have delegated this or some of this or handballed it, I would have been much better off mentally and emotionally and physically, because as we know, physical ailments can often arise from emotional and mental stress and trauma. So, you know, a lot of physical ailments came up for me. And that's when I thought this has inspired me to be someone that's gone through the process, that's walked the walk, that has learnt some of the best ways to work through the process in a chronological order. I've built my own road through the process. I came up with an inventory of about 40 different tasks that I had to address. And when I first embarked on the process, I would have thought maybe there were five or 10 things I needed to do. But as you know, once you start the process, it's like opening Pandora's box. You notify one department and all of a sudden that means that, you know, two other or three other organisations attached to that need to be notified. And there's just, yeah, so many little tips and tricks along the way that I learnt that I just wanted to pay forward that information to try and lighten the load for people, particularly the executives and next of kin, where there never has been a choice or a luxury to decide, do I have the capacity right now to be on the phone to Telstra or Centrelink and potentially on the phone to someone that doesn't really empathise with my situation. So that was my inspiration.
Catherine:And you talk about the skills required. What do you think are the skills? Because I think that sometimes when we agree to be someone's executor, if we do have a will, and that's if we do have a will, because we know that, you know, it's only roughly half the population or a little less than half the population that has written a will. So what are the skills? You know, you sign the will and you sign as an executor, but what really are you actually signing up for? Because I don't think that until we'd really gone through it with Roland that I'd really comprehended just how much is involved if it's not documented. Because for me personally, you know, my father was a clerk of the coroner's court. So we've always had wills and documentation and things like that. I just thought that was normal until I met my husband and realized that it's so not normal. And so, you know, I knew, I thought I knew to a degree how much it involved. But it was those, like, pesky letters that turn up eight months later when you think you've got everything covered that you just go, oh, oh, I didn't think about that, you know, getting the annual eye test or something, you know, really, really just mundane like that.
Danielle:Just triggering, you know. You think you've started to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. My aha moment was the electoral roll. So, there was a New South Wales election and I was so fortunate as to receive a fine because mum hadn't voted. And my assumption would be that one of the government departments would have talked to the Electoral Commission, but that's not the case. So, it was, yeah, 12 months later when I thought, great, I've tied everything up. And then I was receiving something from the Electoral Commission. So, yes, hence the list of 40 different items and things that people don't even think about. It's things like if you've got a property that's now vacant, notifying the home insurer because if there's an incident at the property, such as a theft, breaking, fire or flood, and the insurer isn't notified that it's now a deceased estate and the insurance policy isn't put into the name of the executor, they could very easily deny a claim so it's all those little things that you just don't think about that can come back to bite you in the future.
Catherine:That is so true, isn't it? And what sort of skills do you think make a good executor? So when, before we sign on that dotted line, what, and we've been asked by someone to be an executor, what should we really consider what that means?
Danielle:Well, capacity for me means a lot of things. It's about do I have time capacity? What are my commitments and priorities and responsibilities? Do I have other dependents that I'm caring for? What are my work commitments? What are my travel commitments? The other thing that a lot of people Overlook and something that's coming across my desk quite often are people that have been nominated and appointed as an executor that are elderly. So these people may not have access to the internet, email, they may not be tech savvy. And then there's mobility issues because sometimes you need to go into a services essay location to present documentation. But if you're an elderly person and you don't have mobility and you don't have transport, that might make things quite difficult for you. So I always think about time capacity, technical capacity, and mobility capacity. And I suppose even just, you know, what are your. How would you honestly rate your administration skills? Reading, comprehending, just general literacy. You know, there's tax and accounting considerations. There's, you know, such a big responsibility in terms of having to settle liabilities. So how comfortable are you with paying bills, settling invoices, making phone calls? Emotionally, where are you at in your life? have you just recently dealt with a loss or grief of your own because this could actually be quite emotionally taxing if you're you yourself going through loss and a healing process so i hope that gives a little bit of idea of just some of the considerations because it is more of a commitment than a lot of people think and as i said statistically it can take up to 300 hours can feel like a part-time to full-time job and there's there's really no harm in having a good think about it before you commit to signing the dotted line and there is a small saving grace that if you do find yourself appointed executive because some people aren't even told um they find out by chance, surprise, you can renounce that responsibility. It would need to be formally done with a legal practitioner. But if you do find yourself in that position unknowingly and unwillingly, you can renounce. And certainly if your circumstances have changed too from, you know, sometimes people write their wills and never look at them again and think, oh, well, that's that done. But we know that life is forever changing and, you know, it's something that probably should be kept up to date. And, yeah, so if you do find yourself that you can no longer commit, they can also, you know, opt out, can't they? Yeah.
Catherine:And what do you, you know, where do you find that you fill the gap? Sorry, I'm intrigued to who uses your services. Like what sort of people are you seeing a trend in particular type of people that use it or?
Danielle:Actually, there's no real trend because, as we know, death and loss touches everyone. I mean, for me, I was 35 and then I've got clients that are in their 40s and 50s that have lost a partner and then I've also got sort of that older generation that are losing parents. So as we know, we're all living longer. So for me, there's no real trend or pattern. It's something that everyone and anyone could potentially benefit from. Where I would say that my services would be really beneficial, Again, it comes back to people without that capacity. So really busy mums and dads, you know, the sandwich generation, mums and dads that have been caring for their own children and then caring for their parents tend to be the most time poor and time pressed we see. So lightening that load so that they can continue to keep the wheels spinning on their life without having to be pulled in yet another direction for. Me is where I see a lot of the benefit because you've still got to maintain your own household and those responsibilities so you know people are working longer and longer hours so to then be told hey you've now got 200 hours worth of extra admin that you're not getting paid for that's also very emotionally taxing that to me sort of seems even more unachievable for people in in that kind of age bracket but then again I do have some elderly clients which do experience a bit of I guess they're not as technically savvy and also with that generation it was really one or the other that looked after the accounts the finances and the home yeah yeah and then that partner who was doing it all passes away the surviving spouse all of a sudden has to start learning a bunch of new skills that they've never had to do before and in that regard it's really overwhelming so I'd say probably the sandwich generation and then the elderly generation are probably if I had to pick a trend or a couple of trends that's where I'd go.
Catherine:And when you say, you know, that extra 200 hours on top of whatever else you're doing and the life that you're living at that point in time, most of this has to be done within business hours too, doesn't it?
Danielle:It does have to be done within business hours. Some of these forms need to be filled out and sent within 28 days, particularly, you know, government centrally pension related forms so that there aren't overpayments happening because then we have to pay that back. And so there's yeah lots of things that you only have a month to action and some people don't even have the death certificate then I've got a client at the moment that's just waited 11 weeks for a death certificate so it's yeah very it's it's interesting because you've got a 28-day period to do certain things and then you're waiting for the death certificate in the meantime And then when that comes, it's sort of like, where do I go next and what do I do next? And so I suppose what I have established and understood through my own experience and now through the SAGE business is if you've got a really good roadmap or a checklist. Something that's been in play and pre-planned, And I guess exactly what you're aiming to achieve, Catherine, with your checklist is how can we remove a lot of that workload by planning better for it? It doesn't have to take 300 hours or 12 months. My average client case at the moment is being wrapped up within three months. So that's, you know, great. Nine months of someone's life that they potentially get back to focus and invest more on their grief and their healing and just being able to have a cup of tea with family and look through photos, not be on the phone to Telstra and Centrelink. So again, there's, you know, preparing and planning that can be so helpful to reduce and eliminate a lot of that workload.
Catherine:So... And what would you say, Danielle, are those things that, you know, people can do beforehand before, you know, we get to the sticky situation where it's a life-limiting illness that they get diagnosed with or because that has so much stress and emotion attached with it. What are some of the things that we can do that make it a little bit easier?
Danielle:So making sure that you've got your hands on original documents like birth certificates, marriage certificates, things like that will always be needed with superannuation claims and certainly with probate applications for when we need to apply to the court to have the will validated before the executor can even act so just having original documents on hand because, you know having that conversation with a loved one before they pass away is a whole lot easier than having to try and turn the house upside down to find those documents or having to apply to birth deaths and marriages for you know copies of those so you know I think just those really simple things having as an executor your eyes across what bank accounts exist. Who the who your loved one has their insurance policies with you know having the account numbers handy you know who are their utility providers so really just gathering everything that you could potentially need to have to address or notify in advance having it in a little folder obviously Catherine your checklist is gold because you you itemize all of that from A to Z and it's nitty-gritty so there's really nothing that can be missed because really having to try and find all of that documentation and locate which banks and accounts and passwords and email addresses exist once someone's passed away it's just adding another layer to the already difficult time that you're experiencing
Catherine:and you know we haven't even discussed the funeral No. So this is all in addition to organising a funeral, whether that's something you want to be actively involved in or that's something that you get support from, from a funeral director, et cetera. So there's so much, isn't there?
Danielle:And I think people's first thoughts naturally go to the funeral, which is generally, yeah, the priority. That's natural. But then where it really hits home is when the funeral director delivers the death certificate to you and all the ashes, you know, you realise, like, I've got this death certificate. Now, what do I do? And maybe, as I said, you'll get given a list of organisations to notify. But for me, it was basically just a piece of paper with a whole long list of things that I had to do. But I didn't want to do them because I was trying to care for my mum full time and navigate COVID and I was trying to grieve. So whilst the list of organisations to notify is somewhat helpful, it's just another piece of paper. And it often doesn't have the phone numbers or the websites or where on the website to navigate to. So you sort of, yeah, running blind through the process. And I honestly believe that's why it's taking people hundreds of hours, because there's no clear roadmap.
Catherine:And I think it's also that added pressure that we had, and you may have had something similar when your father died, that, you know, when Roland died, he was living in a rental apartment in St Kilda Road. And so we had to be really mindful of the time, because each day, each week, it was actually effectively costing the family money to pay rent for his belongings still in the apartment. And so that was just another thing to navigate. And so do you work with other organisations? So you specifically look at the administration side of things. And then do you tap into other organisations? Like I know for us, we ended up having to, we contacted three auction houses to come and give us a quote on clearing all of the contents that wasn't wanted by family and friends. Do you work with other organisations like that, Danielle?
Danielle:Yeah, so part of my service offering is to connect families with very carefully curated professionals and experts in various industries. So I've been working to build a network of professionals that I've either worked with and used myself or have a close affiliation with so that I can hand on heart make that referral, because that's another thing that took up so much of my time. It was the researching who to use for property, conveyancing, probate, financial planning, accounting, grief counselling matters, you know, all of that takes time. So for me, this network that I've built is at a national level. It then stems down state by state, city by city, and it's even starting to grow now. You know, township by township, suburb by suburb because people, you know, we can be parochial and also if there are mobility issues, I always like to try and connect my clients with someone located geographically in proximity because, you know, a lot of the professionals that I refer will actually come to the home of the person that's lost a loved one. Because, yeah, it can be quite difficult for people with mobility issues to get to those support services. So I've done all the groundwork to be able to refer with confidence to declutterers and, as I said, property experts and conveyances. And I'm sort of liaising with those experts and my client throughout the process because I still want it to feel like I'm that main person that they're dealing with because I think the least people that you can deal with in a time of grief is helpful. So I still remain that sort of one point of contact, middleman, advocate for my clients, but they can rest assured that who I've sort of connected them with and partnered them with will advocate for them too.
Catherine:And that's how we met, wasn't it? We are both affiliate members of the Australian Funeral Directors Association and I think I've spoken here on the podcast previously about the fact that I've joined numerous industry associations to ensure that when we also refer you're referring to someone who can you be found in the local area but is a member of an industry association so you get that sort of quality assurance from that membership so that's how we met and
Danielle:we live by code of ethics and it's very well governed and you know you're not accepted into that membership lightly so yeah.
Catherine:Danielle, you mentioned that you're across Australia and you go down to an even very local level in regional areas. So how does that work? It's a referral system that you were saying?
Danielle:Yeah, so I mean, people will tend to find me through, I guess, a funeral director that they've been liaising with. Sometimes people will be speaking with a probate lawyer and the probate lawyers will be able to make the applications to the courts for them but may not actually then want to take on all of that sort of lower level form filling phone call making notification process so I'll often receive a lot of inquiries there but I suppose from wherever you're coming from I offer a one-hour complimentary consultations. And in that consultation, we go through the list of 40 different items that could need to be addressed. And then we tailor and customise what that plan would look like for an executor or family member. And from there, really, the beauty of that is that a family member or executor can see what the commitment actually looks like for them. And some families may only need to tackle five things on that list for a very simple estate. Some may not need probate. There may not be a superannuation claim, but then some families may need to touch on all 40 items. So yeah, that consultation is just so helpful in terms of being able to shine a light on what the commitment looks like. And again, it comes back to capacity, giving an executor a choice as to how much of this do I want to take on or can I engage with Danny to share the load or take it on for me. And so then at a national level, we're able to identify if you do need probate, great, which state are you based in? Because every state is mandated differently, conveyancing is done differently. And it's really about, yeah, connecting people appropriately with the expertise and services that they would benefit from. So really after the consultation, there's no obligation to engage with me. I must say that I've never had anyone walk away with the list and say, thanks, I'll do it myself. It's, oh my goodness, I had no idea there was all of this stuff to do. Please help me. But it really is just about education and giving people the opportunity to understand once I'm in knee deep, it can be really hard to navigate to the end and do I have 12 months to do this because I've never done it before and I don't really know the path of least resistance so yeah the consultation's really helpful in that regard.
Catherine:And it must be also really helpful for people to understand what you can assist them with and then what they will need to get legal advice for or they'll need to get an accountant for or a financial advisor or whatever. Because if you go the flip side and you go to a lawyer first, it's going to be a lot more expensive, isn't it?
Danielle:It can be. And I think that there's a lot of considerations financially that people don't necessarily realise. And that's, for example, a superannuation death claim. So, if you are currently receiving a pension or a Centrelink entitlement, and there's a $300,000 superannuation benefit payable to you because you are the nominated beneficiary? Do you understand that there could be implications around your Centrelink entitlements? Because as we know, there's means tested entitlements dependent on your income and assets. So if you all of a sudden end up with $300,000 extra in your bank account, you might find next month your entitlement isn't paid to you. And that's really hard to undo and unwind. So, you know, connecting you with a professional and an expert. And, you know, I've even got in that financial arena, experts on self-managed super funds, on wealth creation. So, we even drill down into what specifically do we need to explore more in terms of your financial situation to make sure that we've covered off all of the tax implications and so that you're not going to find yourself worse off by accepting a payment because there's strategies around that you know can there's obviously everyone thinks let's tick the box and receive a lump sum payment but I'm very mindful of referring and recommending my clients to just have a chat with a financial planner before we sign off anything and send it back to the fund because there are other ways to to accept payments like withdrawals and re-contributions income streams and there's just ways around that and i guess again if you haven't been exposed to this before. The superannuation fund isn't going to sit there and coach you on how you may or may not wish to receive a payment. That's not their mandate. It's about understanding that there are other complexities and considerations as a beneficiary and then as the executor, you know, what do your responsibilities look like in terms of tax compliance? If you don't understand all of that and there is potentially a tax file number needed for the estate, you may need to engage a tax professional to help you through that process because the buck stops with you as the executor. And that's where I'm really passionate about connecting people with experts to lead them on that journey in the right way.
Catherine:Because there is that legal responsibility once you accept that role as executor, isn't there?
Danielle:Absolutely. And even in some states, there's a legislation requirement that you need to publish a notice to creditors where creditors are given 30 days to make claim on an estate. And then there's also in some states a requirement to publish a notice of intent to distribute. So that gives potential claimants six months in some case to make a claim on the estate so as an executor if you distribute all the assets before all of the liabilities are taken into account or before you've given ample time for potential claimants to make a claim you are responsible for that you need to basically pay that money back so again state by state is is different and so getting you in touch with a with a lawyer that specializes in wills and estates and probate is super important because they'll they'll again lead you on that journey make sure that you don't end up negligent or liable.
Catherine:And how does someone get in contact with you
Danielle:so i am available basically by email phone call i think you've got the website yeah it'll definitely be in the show notes and it's on our connect page as well yeah so just pick up the phone or flick me an email and i think just the first most important step is we just have a no obligation chat about the estate and the position that you're in. Obviously, as I said, Catherine, your checklist is gold because if anyone has worked through that checklist, by the time they get to me to do the checklist, there's everything that I could possibly need to run with and make those notifications. And we're not going to be digging for account numbers and passwords and legacies. It's kind of all there laid out. There's no breadcrumbs that we need to follow. It's a very clear and simple plan designed to make the process of dealing with after death administration more palatable because it's not easy, but it's about, I guess, removing as much of that workload as possible so that we can really primarily focus on the processing of grief and healing.
Catherine:And based on your own personal experience and having gone through it and then you know helping people go through it now what has been the benefit for you to out of this process you know when you look back and you reflect what are the things that you think oh man I wish I'd known that
Danielle:um well I might answer that in two ways the first first way I wanted to answer that was having gone through all of that grief and trauma has evolved my life, my perception on things and what's important. And firstly, what I find so rewarding is the feedback that I get from my clients around lightening the load, seeing the end of the tunnel, feeling relieved, feeling held, feeling guided and feeling understood and feeling all those things that I didn't get to feel when I was in that position. So that's been the most rewarding part for me. And I think what not only is, I suppose, my business a very new and unique concept, not many people have heard of it because it hasn't existed before. It's uncharted territory. But not only that, it's about, I guess, me turning that pain into something that can help people. More easily navigate the process that I didn't have the opportunity to navigate. So it's really important for me that executors and families understand that they do have help. They do have support. There is help out there now and they don't have to do it alone and there is an easier way to do it. So that would be probably the first part of the question. And then I guess just like the tips and tricks for me were really around a lot of the financial piece of being a beneficiary. And, you know, also if you know that a loved one is going to pass away, it's having conversations with a financial planner because, as we know, we have to pay tax as a beneficiary on a super benefit. But if that money can be withdrawn and put into another account, it can be exempt from taxes so it's really I guess good to know that there are a lot of great people out there that will be in your corner to help you understand all of the considerations and implications so that you don't find yourself 12 or 18 months down the track in a financial position that's worse off so I think for me yeah so so many of the things I've learned have been around illegal ramifications, financial ramifications. And so, yeah, they're some of the things that we talk through in the consultation as well. So before you tick and flick, you know, how's that going to affect you? So they'd be the key things that I'm grateful to have learnt and things that I want to pay forward to people too.
Catherine:And when you think back at that time when your dad died and then shortly thereafter your mum was there anything prepared for you
Danielle:yeah they were really organized actually they had folders and files and we did have conversations because of mum's neurological disorder and so there was a lot of documentation very well organized and prepared with account details and passwords so um, that definitely made it a lot easier for me. And if I could encourage anyone listening to this call to have those conversations and to download Catherine's checklist, because, you know. Some people have that mindset or once I've, once I'm gone, it doesn't matter. I don't need to deal with it. Your family needs to deal with it and your executor needs to deal with it. And it is really challenging so the biggest gift you can give them is the opportunity to plan and prepare so fortunately for me and my parents were very open in conversation and and I was their executor and power of attorney and we did talk through all of the financial implications so if I could say anything it's start having those open conversations and reach out if there's any questions that you have to myself or Catherine because yeah there's there's the pre-planning specialty in Catherine's Serena, and then I'm the AFTER administration specialty. So together we can probably answer any of the questions or concerns that you have. And if we can't, we've got really great connections that can. That's very true.
Catherine:Well, I would have hate to have, you know, you were fortunate, I suppose, to some degree that you had that information. I'd hate to see what it would have been like if you didn't have that information, you know. So, but it's so great, the service that you offer, that you could help navigate that whole space because it's such a difficult thing to do when you're grieving. So thank you so much, Danielle.
Danielle:Thanks, Catherine.
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