Areas of Expertise

Post-Injury Advice

If you are undergoing a personal insurance claim, workplace injury or compensation claim you may receive financial benefits as a result of a successful outcome.

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We know a financial benefit is only a small part of the healing process and there is often long-term ongoing recovery to follow, however making the best possible choices for your benefits early is critical.  It will allow you to concentrate on your recovery, while making sure your financial future is as secure as possible.

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Depending on the nature of your claim, there may also be tax consequences to consider, superannuation requirements to meet and Centrelink exclusions to be aware of.

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We are here to help you navigate the steps after receiving a claim, both financially and emotionally.  We work closely with your other professionals including your personal injury lawyers, estate planning lawyers and accountants to ensure you have the best possible outcome.

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Personal Insurance

We are natural optimists here at Crown & Willow and we love planning for when things go right.  However, we also know it doesn't always happen that way.  We can help you work through your 'Plan B'.  Some clients may have enough resources to self-fund their plan B.  Most clients do not.

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We are experts in all things personal insurance.  We can help you understand the four main types of cover (Life, Total & Permanent Disability, Income Protection and Trauma) and how much you may need of each.  We also make sure we know what amounts and types of cover you already have, particularly inside your super fund.  We then work with you to understand what features, definitions and ownership structures might be best given your individual situation.

Wealth Creation 

We can provide advice regarding personal wealth creation.  We consider your available amounts for investment, your ability to direct surplus cashflow towards an investment strategy and what your appetite for investment risk is.

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We also take into consideration ownership of any potential investments, tax implications and minimisation strategies where appropriate and your investment preferences.

Investment Strategies

Having a clear investment strategy is important to ensure your portfolio is invested in line with an appropriate level of investment risk.

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We work with both individuals, directors and trustees of self-managed super funds, special disability trusts and family trusts to ensure they have formulated an investment strategy suitable to meet desired goals of the investor or beneficiary.

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We help you understand different asset classes and their unique characteristics.  We also help you determine suitable allocations to various asset classes to ensure your portfolio balances a comfortable amount of risk with desired returns.

Special Disability Trusts

Special Disability Trusts are a unique and complex tool that can be of great assistance to an eligible beneficiary that has ongoing support and care needs.

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It can provide the beneficiary with a range of Centrelink benefits.  We work with trustees, their lawyers and accountants to determine whether the structure is suitable, assess eligibility and implement strategies to maximise entitlements for the beneficiary.

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We also work with trustees to ensure they are meeting their obligations of creating and maintaining an investment strategy that is suitable to the needs of the beneficiary.

Estate Planning

Making sure your assets are disbursed to the right people at the right time in the event of your death is important.

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We work with your Estate Planning Lawyer to ensure your assets transfer to who you want them to, when you want them to.

Intergenerational Wealth Transfer

You may be a recipient of an inheritance, expectedly or unexpectedly.  We can provide you with a range of different strategies to ensure the wealth that has been passed to you continues to be used in the best way possible.  

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Alternatively, you may wish to consider gifting assets to loved ones early.  We can help you understand any implications involved in early gifting of assets.  We can also provide projections on your situation to help you determine whether early gifting is a feasible strategy given your particular circumstances.

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In any case, we work with clients to help them make good decisions in relation to the transfer of wealth between generations.

Cashflow & Budgeting

Understanding your household's annual cashflow is an important step in being able to put together advice recommendations.

It allows us to see whether you have surplus cashflow to put towards further wealth accumulation strategies.  Alternatively, it can also tell us whether or not you are on track to meet your goals with your current outgoings.  If you aren't we will be upfront with you.  Either way, it will help you have a gauge on whether you need to consider making any changes with your current spending habits.

Asset Projections

We use sophisticated financial modelling software to predict both cashflow and asset projections.

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This helps you understand whether you are on track to meet your desired financial goals.  It can also show your tax position, how long your funds will last in retirement and how we can expect your investments and super to grow.

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It allows us to model potential changes to savings, investments and strategies to show you in real numbers what difference that will have on your overall position.  It provides you with powerful insights into where you are heading and how much you can improve your financial position by making any recommended changes.

Centrelink 

We have extensive experience in Centrelink strategies and have intricate working knowledge of Centrelink payments including how they are calculated, when you are eligible and how you may be able to maximize your entitlements.

Defined Benefits

You may have your super account as part of a defined benefit scheme with your employer.  While these types of accounts still fall under the superannuation banner, they operate very differently to an accumulation super account.

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Defined benefit schemes vary vastly from employer to employer and have unique calculations in determining your final benefit.  

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We can help you understand your defined benefit scheme and whether it is working in the best way possible for you.  We can also provide options if you need to make a decision with your defined benefit scheme at retirement or upon leaving an employer.

Personal Insurance Claims

If you become unwell and have an existing personal insurance policy, you may be eligible to make a claim.

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We have extensive experience in personal insurance claims and have a 100% success rate on claims submitted to date. We understand policy definitions and will provide you with an initial assessment of your potential eligibility to claim.

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If you are eligible to make a claim, we understand how the process works and what is required from all parties.  We will liaise with third parties like your medical specialists, employers and the insurer to ensure your claim progresses as quickly as possible.  We will also ensure you know what to expect and help you prepare mentally for the claims process.

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In addition, we work with our colleagues in the legal profession should you need expert legal guidance regarding your claim.

Financial Advice Complaints

All licensed advisers have an obligation to ensure the advice they give you is appropriate for your circumstances.  They also have an obligation to deliver on services that you have paid for.

In the past, you may have been the recipient of advice that was not appropriate for your circumstances. Alternatively, you may have been paying for services that were not provided.  This can happen for many reasons such as the employer may not have provided adequate support for the adviser to deliver on their service obligations, the adviser may not have provided you an appropriate recommendation because they didn't fully understand your circumstances, or the advice may simply be incorrect.  In any case, you may be eligible for compensation. 

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Our team has extensive experience in the compliance and governance field.

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We have practical experience in large scale advice remediation programs, experience in working in large institutions with systemic advice failures, and national experience in leading teams for quality advice programs on behalf of some of the largest licensees in the country.

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We can review previous pieces of advice and service provided to help you determine whether you might be eligible to seek payment.