In both my professional and personal life, I have the privilege of spending much of my time in the company of Lawyers, many of whom I regard as good friends.  Over the years, I have learned a lot from my friends in the legal profession, who I have immense admiration for.

I always come out a little more educated after a coffee catch-up or lunch date with these clever people. They regularly have a good work story or two, and a few nuggets of wisdom to impart, from their daily dealings in helping the rest of us protect our interests.

For those who work in law, regardless of which form, do get to see people at their best, and their worst. They get to see exactly what happens when the once-steady train suddenly derails in business and personal relationships, and their services are called upon. And they have plenty of horror stories to tell when those happy trains bump off the tracks and plonks into the mud.

But some horror stories can be avoided with a bit of due diligence. And due diligence is a lot easier to do when the train is chugging along sweetly through wildflower meadows.

Due diligence can feel big or small. It certainly feels more smaller and more manageable at the lower stress end, when the train is on track - when getting married, setting up a business, or buying and selling property, for example.

When lawyers are mostly called in, and most urgently, is sat the higher stress end, when the train wheels have already slipped - that is, in business disputes, separations, and custody disputes. Coming to an agreement at this point, can become incredibly stressful, arduous, and expensive.

Protecting your interests earlier on, by completing your due diligence, is the safest and easiest route in your journey.

And what I have I learned from observing Lawyers and listening to their conversations and work stories is something really quite simple.

Unsigned documents in the bottom draw, or emails that haven't become signed formal documents, are meaningless.

A document that is unsigned is effectively meaningless in the eyes of the court. Many hopes and dreams can only become reality IF signed documents are involved

Basically, that's it.  If it's not signed, then it won’t happen.

If you want to protect your interests and future-proof your life, then my advice to you is simple. Sign the Will, Sort the Pre Nup, Get the Buy Sell agreement finished.

I know. Conversations during otherwise happy times about the aforementioned can rock the boat and cause temporary strain and unease in a relationship. You may not wish to deviate the train off its merry tracks for an awkward conversation about what may go wrong in the future. There may be reluctance on either party’s side to discuss, issue or sign the documents, for fear of seeming pessimistic or of sowing seeds of doubt or mistrust. But having these conversations today is a lot easier than when communication has broken down entirely, or is no longer possible, due to relationships ending or the death of an interested party.

Velocity is not the place for legal advice, but we are experienced in tactfully initiating difficult and potentially awkward conversations to start the ball rolling in the due diligence process when it comes to protecting your financial assets.

Times of late have been uncertain and pressured. Increased strains and stresses on businesses and relationships have meant that some trains have taken their passengers to the wrong stations or derailed themselves completely. As well as dealing with clients going through these tougher times, a few of us in the team also know on a personal level what this is like too.

‍Do yourself a favour in 2022.

Take a look at what you’ve got in place, or what you need to get in place, what needs to be signed, and sign it.

Our advisers are well-versed in a series of conversation starters that we are happy to share. Stop off at our station and have a chat with us.

All the best for 2022

Graham

About Graham

Hi there, I’m Graham and I started Velocity Financial nearly 20 years ago. I had for many years been running youth development programmes for The Salvation Army and I liked the idea of continuing to help people thrive in other areas of their lives. It started with helping first home buyers, and I now work mostly with business owners. This is around planning, lending, and managing risk for them and their staff. I'm passionate about community and connecting those in need with opportunity. I've been very privileged to do this in my previous career, now in my business and also for 20 years as a Trustee of the Te Aro Health Clinic. Our clinic delivers high quality health care for Wellington's most vulnerable and I'm very proud of the fact that Te Aro is now an integral part of Wellington City Health system. I work in New Zealand's two best cities, Tauranga and Wellington. In Tauranga I swim, bike and run (maybe YOGA if I'm feeling particularly aware!) and in Wellington mostly seem to buy my adult children dinner and drinks.

Disclaimer: Graham Goodisson (FSP95428) is a Financial Adviser with Velocity Financial (FSP95466). No investment decision should be taken based on the information in this blog alone. Please see Graham's disclosure statement on our website. 

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