When life changes: How financial advice supports key life events

Retirement can be one of the biggest transitions in life, not just financially, but emotionally and socially.

It’s the time when work winds down, your choices shift, and you have more time to enjoy the life you’ve been envisaging. The important question to ask yourself is: what do I want this chapter of my life to look like? Where will I be and who will I be with? The earlier you start planning, the bigger you can dream.

Planning early puts you in the driving seat. Whatever a good retirement looks like to you, a financial planner can bring that vision to life and map out the route to get there. They’ll also work with you to adjust your plan as circumstances change, because no one’s future is ever set in stone.

Whether it’s helping with education costs, contributing to a house deposit, or gifting money for a wedding, generosity often plays a big role in life planning.

But giving well means planning wisely. A financial planner can help you give with confidence, ensuring you protect your own financial wellbeing at the same time. They can also structure gifts in a way that’s tax-efficient, sustainable, and aligned with your long-term goals.

Divorce can change everything – your day-to-day life, your living situation, your financial security, your future plans. It could also mean a steep learning curve if you always relied on your spouse to manage your investments.

Amid all the emotional upheaval, it’s easy to focus on the immediate concerns: where you’ll live, who will care for the children (if still dependent), how to manage monthly expenses.

What’s often overlooked, particularly by women, is the longer-term picture. Many divorcees don’t factor in pension entitlements, which can have a huge impact on future financial security. It’s a blind spot that can have lasting consequences.

A financial planner can provide a rational head, help you see the full picture, understand what you’re entitled to, and enable you to make informed decisions that benefit your financial future.

The loss of a loved one, or a sudden illness, is one the hardest moments in life to deal with. As well as the emotional toll, it can also leave a tangle of financial issues to unravel, from dealing with estates to reassessing your income, budget, and long-term plans.

If your partner managed the finances, you might suddenly need to take on unfamiliar responsibilities. And if you’re dealing with a personal diagnosis or major health shift, your priorities might change overnight.

When you’ve built a relationship with your financial planner, you’ll see they offer more than just financial expertise. They bring empathy and sensitivity, taking time to explain, and providing the support so you can rebuild financial confidence at a time when it’s hard to think straight.

Life can change in an instant. You may need later-life care yourself, or have an ageing parent who requires it. This can bring difficult decisions about how to fund that care and how it will affect your, or your parent’s, financial plans, from retirement income to day-to-day living costs.

There are a number of options when it comes to funding long term care, including annuities and deferred payment agreements. It might be difficult to know what’s best for your situation, so seeking advice from a suitably qualified financial planner can be a massive help.

They can work with you to:

• Restructure your finances in response to reduced income or increased costs
• Explore funding options, including local authority support, care allowances, or asset use
• Adjust your goals and timeline to reflect a new reality
• Bring clarity and calm during a time that often feels anything but

Whether it’s a temporary disruption or a life-altering event, your financial plan should flex and respond, just as life does. And having a trusted adviser by your side means you don’t have to go it alone.

As your financial situation evolves, whether through career progression, business success, property wealth or inheritance, managing your investments naturally becomes more complex. Your income may rise, your assets may grow, and your goals may shift. But so too does the risk of inefficiencies, missed opportunities, or unintended tax consequences.

When your income increases, it’s important to think about how best to make use of it, not just in the short term, but in a way that builds long-term financial security.

This might include using pension contributions to reduce your taxable income, or making the most of ISA allowances and other investment options. For higher earners, the right tax planning strategies can make a meaningful difference to how much of your income you actually keep, and how effectively it works for your future.

Estate planning also becomes more important as wealth builds. It’s not just about inheritance tax, it’s about ensuring your wishes are respected, protecting your loved ones, and passing on wealth in a thoughtful and structured way.

An independent financial planner will take account of your current circumstances and future goals and create a plan capable of seeing you through life. This could include:

• Creating a bespoke, risk-rated investment strategy that makes the most of your current and future financial resources
• Using spousal bypasses and tax allowances to enable tax-efficient gifting and minimise inheritance tax liability

Working alongside your solicitor on trusts, powers of attorney, and wills to protect assets and safeguard decision-making.

These are the kind of tasks that are easy to put off, but when done well, and with the right team, they offer clarity, confidence and peace of mind.

Passing on or receiving wealth isn’t just a financial process, it’s often deeply personal. It can involve family stories, emotional decisions, and questions that don’t always have easy answers.

Wealth transfer includes anything from setting up your own estate plan, helping a loved one manage theirs, to navigating what to do after receiving an inheritance. It’s not just about legal documents, it’s about making sure the money you’ve earned, saved, or been gifted is used in a way that feels right.

If you’re planning to pass on wealth, you might be thinking about how best to support your children or grandchildren, how to minimise inheritance tax, or how to make sure your wishes are understood and respected.

A financial planner can help you put a clear, thoughtful structure in place, one that balances fairness, compassion, and tax efficiency, without creating confusion or stress for your family later on.

And if you’re receiving an inheritance, it can be hard to know what to do, especially if it comes after the loss of someone close.

Should you invest it? Pay off the mortgage? Use it to support your children? Or simply leave it untouched for the future? A planner can help you think through your options and make decisions that honour the person who left it to you, while also supporting the life you want to build.

These conversations can be emotional, but with the right guidance, they can also be empowering.

Even with the best-laid plans, the wider world doesn’t always cooperate. Markets rise and fall, interest rates change, and inflation can chip away at the value of money over time.

That’s why working with a planner matters. Rather than reacting to headlines or short-term panic, you’ll have someone to help you zoom out, keeping your focus on the bigger picture and your long-term goals.

Most people reach out to a financial planner because of a specific trigger: retirement, divorce, inheritance, or sometimes just a growing feeling that it’s time to get their finances in order. Seeking financial advice for key life events ensures you’re prepared for life’s big transitions.

But what often starts as a one-off conversation becomes something much more valuable: a long-term relationship built on trust.

Over time, your planner gets to know you – not just your finances, but your hopes, your worries, your family story. They become someone you can turn to for:

• Reassurance and validation – knowing you’re doing the right thing
• Clarity and structure – bringing order to the complex
• Ongoing support – adjusting your plan as your life evolves

The truth is life rarely gives us a heads-up before it changes. That’s why the best time to speak to a planner is often before you think you need one. Whether you’re navigating something difficult or planning something exciting, having the right support can turn uncertainty into opportunity.

Start the conversation early, and you’ll feel more prepared for whatever comes next, more confident, more in control, and more focused on the life you really want to live.

At Amber River, we believe financial planning should start with your life, not your numbers. That’s why we take a human-first approach. We often refer to it as Life Landscaping.

Life Landscaping is our way of working: listening deeply, understanding your hopes and values, and helping you build a financial life that supports what really matters to you.

To set up an initial appointment with an Amber River financial planner, call 0800 915 0000, or alternatively, use our contact form here.