"If they are not, what compromises may need to be made, what our options are and also talk through this credit card situation to make sure that she's not getting in any difficulty there."
He is clear he does not provide formal advice or recommendations, "it's just helpful information and guidance".
"There's going to be no money changing hands here because it's clear to me that she probably hasn't got the means to pay for formal advice.
"I just want to help her because she's an extension of a client relationship I have and I have the ability to help her and I just wish I had more time to provide that support and assistance to people who probably need it most."
Lancaster would be prepared to give full advice at his cost if he felt the case warranted it.
But he adds: "Capacity would need to be considered, it might take us some time, and you also need to think about fairness.
"If we're saying yes to someone in that regard, why are we saying yes to them potentially at the expense of others? And we've also got to be really careful that this pro-bono work isn't being subsidised by our existing clients.
"Because ultimately our front and centre responsibility is to our fee-paying clients."
A high level of EQ
Depledge was established 10 years ago next year and now has £230mn of assets under management. Lancaster joined in September 2020, having previously worked at Tilney, now Evelyn Partners.
He says he joined Depledge because "I've gotten to know Andrew, the MD, here now over the course of many conversations; I liked his philosophy about how clients should be dealt with and I liked the idea of moving into a smaller kind of boutique business."
He adds: "I think Andrew's feeling, and this is one that I share, is that costs are creeping upwards and upwards within the industry and it's impeding on the bottom line returns that clients are achieving more and more all of the time."
He says the firm is keen to keep costs down while still running a sustainable profitable business.
This means it charges an initial fee, determined by the complexity of the case but typically between £1,000 and £5,000, and has a tiered ongoing fee structure, from 0.65 per cent down to 0.3 per cent for wealth of £2mn+, charged on the entire pot.
