What does financial planning look like when your child has special needs?

In this episode of Life Chapters, Money Choices, Kim Potgieter and Michael Avery speak to Bryony Gilmour, a financial planner at Chartered Wealth Solutions and mother to Kerry and Jade. Bryony and her husband, Gareth, only discovered when Jade was born that she had Down syndrome. At the time, their focus was not on financial planning, but on helping their daughter grow, learn and thrive.

Years later, Bryony’s own life chapter changed when she became a financial planner in her forties. Looking back through that lens, she shares what families need to consider around care, money and long-term responsibility, from estate planning, trusts and life insurance to guardianship, sibling involvement, tax benefits and the conversations families often put off.

This is a conversation about love, responsibility and choice. It asks what it means to live fully in the present while making financial and family decisions that can protect a child who may need support beyond their parents’ lifetime. It also explores the importance of allowing siblings to be part of the plan without making the responsibility theirs to carry.

You cannot plan away every uncertainty, but you can make thoughtful choices that give your family more peace, more options and a clearer path for the people you love.

Resource mentioned in this episode: Kim refers to the Lifeline Activity, a reflective exercise that helps you map the key moments in your life, recognise the highs and lows, and draw out the lessons, people and patterns that have supported you along the way.

Download the Timeline Activity here

🎧 Tune in. Be brave. Be on purpose.

What if the next chapter of life is not about slowing down, but about staying open?

In this episode of Life Chapters, Money Choices, Kim Potgieter and Michael Avery are joined by Kate Turkington, broadcaster, travel writer, author and one of South Africa’s most recognisable voices in travel and media.

Nearly 92, Kate is still curious, still travelling and still saying yes to life. She shares stories from her childhood as an evacuee during World War II, her early love of theatre, her broadcasting career, her travels and the role that integrity, curiosity and adventure have played throughout her life.

The conversation becomes a thoughtful reflection on planning, control and the importance of leaving space for surprise. Kate reminds us that while plans matter, life does not always follow them. What matters is staying engaged, noticing joy and being willing to take the next opportunity when it comes.

This episode invites us to ask a simple question: what could we still say yes to?

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What happens when memory starts to change, and the people around us are not sure what to say or do?

In this episode of Life Chapters, Money Choices, Kim Potgieter and Michael Avery are joined by Dr Ryan Fuller, specialist geriatric psychiatrist and founder of the Memory Care Group, for a compassionate conversation about dementia, family responsibility, capacity, financial decision-making and dignity.

Dementia is often spoken about as memory loss, but as Dr Fuller explains, it can affect far more than recall. It can change judgement, behaviour, emotions, safety, money decisions and the structure of family life. These changes can place families, spouses, adult children, caregivers and advisers in deeply sensitive positions, especially when questions of capacity, power of attorney and future care arise.

Kim reflects on the difficult moments financial planners face when they begin noticing changes in a client’s understanding or behaviour. How do you raise a concern without taking away a person’s dignity? Who should be involved? And what happens when the family has waited too long to speak openly?

This conversation is not about fear. It is about planning early, protecting choice and having the discussion while it can still be a discussion. Because when families talk sooner, they give themselves a better chance of acting with care, clarity and respect.

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What happens when the home that once held your whole life no longer fits the life you are living now?

In this episode of Life Chapters, Money Choices, Michael Avery and Kim Potgieter are joined by Financial Planning Specialist Jason Appel for a thoughtful conversation about one of the most emotional and practical decisions many people face in later life: whether to stay in the family home, rent, buy outright or consider life rights in a retirement estate.

The family home is rarely just bricks and mortar. It carries memories, routines, identity and years of life lived. But as children leave home, health needs change, costs rise and community becomes more important, the question of where to live can no longer be avoided. It becomes both a financial planning conversation and a deeply personal one.

Together, Michael, Kim and Jason unpack the differences between outright purchase, renting and life rights, and explore why each option needs to be considered in the context of your health, family, finances and future care needs. They discuss the emotional pull of the family home, the value of community, the importance of planning before a crisis, and the peace of mind that can come from understanding your choices clearly.

This is not an episode about finding one perfect answer. It is a conversation about asking the right questions early enough, so that decisions about home, care and money can be made from a place of choice rather than pressure. Because where you live in the next chapter is not only a property decision. It is a life design decision.

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How prepared are you for a diagnosis you never saw coming?

It is a confronting question, but one that sits at the heart of meaningful financial planning. Many people think about financial planning in terms of investments, returns and retirement, only to discover that serious illness brings a different set of questions.

Michael Avery and Kim Potgieter speak to Glen Baker, former portfolio manager at WealthStrat, about being diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer and how it changed the way he thinks about time, work, family, friendship and money.

They discuss the financial realities of serious illness, including medical aid, income protection, dread disease cover, hidden costs and the paperwork that often comes with claiming. They also talk about the importance of having the right people around you, from family and friends to colleagues and a financial planner who understands both the numbers and the human side of money.

Financial planning is not only about protecting your future. It is about making sure that when life changes, you and the people you love have the support, structure and breathing room you need.

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What would happen to your family if you died last night?

It is a confronting question, but one that sits at the heart of proper estate planning. Many people believe that having a signed will means everything is taken care of, only to discover that a will is just one part of a much bigger picture.

Michael Avery and Kim Potgieter speak to Financial Planning Specialist Maryanne Leicher about why estate planning is not only about death, tax or who gets what. It is about making sure the people you love have access to cash, understand your wishes, know where assets are held, and are not left trying to make difficult decisions while grieving.

They discuss the difference between will and non-will assets, the importance of beneficiary nominations, liquidity for a surviving spouse or partner, family conversations around money, and why a letter of wishes can help bring clarity to deeply personal decisions.

A will matters, but it is not enough.

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Few institutions are as generous, emotional, or enduring as the Bank of Mom and Dad.

In this episode of Life Chapters, Money Choices, Michael Avery and Kim Potgieter are joined by Financial Planning Specialist Tom Brukman for an honest conversation about the financial and emotional realities of supporting adult children.

From helping with university fees, rent, medical aid, and everyday expenses...
To recognising when support quietly becomes dependency...
To balancing the needs of adult children, ageing parents, and your own retirement security...

They explore why so many families find themselves caught between love, responsibility, and financial reality.

This conversation unpacks the hidden cost of ongoing support, the long-term impact on retirement security, and why money conversations within families are often the hardest to have.

Along the way, they reflect on the lessons children learn from watching their parents, the importance of transparency, and how well-placed boundaries can strengthen, rather than strain, family relationships.

Sometimes the most loving thing a parent can do is not give more.

It is helping their children build the confidence, independence, and resilience to create a life of their own.

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At 56, Cheryl Jones found herself asking a question many people face in midlife: What now?

Her children had left home, life looked very different from the years before, and she felt drawn to something more. Instead of settling into familiar routines, Cheryl made the bold decision to return to studying, challenge her self-doubt, and reinvent her career.

In this episode of Life Chapters, Money Choices, Michael Avery and Kim Potgieter explore Cheryl's journey from imposter syndrome to renewed purpose. They discuss the value of lifelong learning, the challenge of recognising your own worth, and why so many people underestimate the experience and wisdom they have built over decades.

They also explore how financial confidence can create the freedom to pursue meaningful work, try new things, and design a life that feels aligned with who you are today, not who you were twenty years ago.

This is a conversation for anyone wondering whether it is too late to start something new. Cheryl's story shows that some of life's most interesting chapters can begin when you decide to back yourself and take the first step.

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At some point, success stops being about accumulation and starts being about meaning.

In this episode of Life Chapters, Money Choices, Michael Avery and Kim Potgieter are joined by entrepreneur, mother, and serial reinventor Miranda Isaakidis for a conversation about curiosity, change, and what it means to keep creating a meaningful life as your priorities evolve.

From financial setbacks like the 1987 crash…
To building a business rooted in purpose, empowerment, and creating opportunities for others…
To facing the often-overlooked shift from saving and striving to spending with intention in later life…

Miranda shares how each chapter of her life called for fresh thinking, courage, and a willingness to embrace change rather than stay stuck.

This conversation explores how success can evolve beyond wealth creation, how couples can approach major life changes together, and why retirement is not about slowing down, but about creating the freedom to live more intentionally.

Sometimes the next chapter is not about having more.
It is about making what you already have mean more.

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What if the reason you feel stuck isn’t a lack of discipline or direction, but the state of your brain?

In this conversation, Michael Avery and Kim Potgieter sit down with neurologist Dr Kirti Ranchod to unpack how stress, uncertainty, and constant distraction reshape the way we think, feel, and make decisions.

They explore why memory fails under pressure, why clarity disappears in times of change, and why so many people try to make big life decisions while mentally exhausted.

This episode offers simple, practical ways to slow down, restore focus, and reconnect with your own thinking before rushing into decisions.

If you are facing a transition and feeling uncertain, this is a reminder to pause, reset, and give your brain the space it needs before deciding what comes next.

🎧 Tune in. Be brave. Be on purpose.