You’ll receive clear directions and small steps to take along with help completing them.
Accounts may need to be re-titled or updated with new beneficiaries. Insurance and legal documents must be reviewed for needed changes.
Providing clarity,
one widow at a time.
This is a traumatic time in your life. You don't need someone selling you something. You don't need to build a future financial plan right now. So how do you handle things the right way?
Introducing the Widow Financial Triage℠
We take care of these before we go any further in the planning process.
Attorneys and CPAs will help ensure the steps are properly followed.
I will guide you through these decisions with clear explanations.
Science (and the regulators) say nobody should be pressuring you to make decisions right now. It’s just not a good time. Besides, you may not feel like making decisions every day. This way you can spend more time focusing on your well-being.
You might need shelter from product salespeople and even relatives
Widows can attract product salespeople and relatives looking for money.
Now, you can tell them you’re working with a trusted advisor who is helping you figure out the right way to handle your money.
Ideas may come in from all places of “what you should do”. Bring them in!
I’m your independent advocate, so let’s go over them together. I’m not going to let anybody take advantage of you, or let you make a decision that you’re going to regret later.
After we’ve covered the urgent issues, we can step back and see where you are financially.
Don’t expect to have your financial life in perfect order at this point. I’ll help you pull together an inventory of your finances.
Next, we build a game plan to address your short-term investment, insurance, tax, and legal needs.
The goal is to give you confidence in your immediate financial future. That way, you can focus on other things as needed.
This is the hardest step for many people.
When you are ready, we build a roadmap of goals and clear actions on how best to achieve them. Then we move forward and make it happen!
Keeping in Balance
Managing control over your finances is an ongoing effort. Once we have completed the initial work together, I will continue to help you address your financial questions and challenges in:
- Managing Cash Flow and Income
- Managing Investments
- Managing Financial Risks
- Managing Retirement
- Helping Others
- Helping Yourself
We'll Look at Your Whole Financial Picture
Investment Management
- Use academically-supported investment techniques that do not rely on predictions;
- Include high-quality, low cost investment and insurance products. Reduce any with excessive expenses;
- Take the minimum amount of risk needed to keep your goals on track and reduce any unnecessary risks.
Income in Retirement
- Match your guaranteed vs. non-guaranteed income to your needs and risk tolerance;
- Take advantage of tax-saving opportunities when making withdrawals;
- Ensure your spending levels match up with your future goals.
Insurance Protections
- Help protect you from unexpected medical expenses, long-term care, or other unforeseen events;
- Track your existing policies to ensure they remain cost-efficient and needed;
- Coordinate insurance benefits from employers with personally-owned policies to prevent overlap or gaps.
Tax Reduction
- Coordinate with your trusted tax professional to reduce your tax prep efforts;
- Use tax code opportunities to reduce your future taxes (Roth conversions, etc.);
- Manage your investments with tax reduction strategies like tax-loss harvesting.
Social Security
- Maximize your Social Security benefits, including those for ex-spouses and survivors;
- Time your Social Security to reduce potential conflicts with your current income;
- Assist with Social Security, Medicare, and Medicare Supplement (“Medigap”) applications.
Benefits from Your Workplace
- Coordinate your pension, 401(k), 403(b), and other benefits with your financial plan;
- Identify weaknesses in employer-provided insurance coverage and assist with adding more when needed;
- Review benefit changes and assist with annual open enrollment period decisions.
Home Equity
- Analyze your home equity for extra retirement income without jeopardizing other goals;
- Track your existing mortgage(s) for opportunities to refinance or pay down/off;
- Review lines of credit and other liens for suitability and alternatives.
Fraud and Elder Abuse
- Provide a second opinion on any product pitches or high-pressure dinner seminars;
- Keep trusted family members, CPAs, and attorneys updated as much as you wish;
- Work with your lawyer to build legal protections to keep your financial details private.
