Latest / Wisdom For What's Next / Preparing Financially for the Loss of a Loved One
Transcript
- Craft & Sage: There are moments in life when everything changes. Retirement, a career move, an inheritance, a growing family, the loss of someone you love. Or simply reaching the point where you start asking, what's next? And while those moments are deeply personal, they often come with important financial decisions too. Welcome to Wisdom for What's Next, hosted by Craft and Sage wealth co-founder and financial advisor Megan Jewitt. Each episode brings thoughtful conversations about money, life, and the decisions that shape what comes next. Helping you think more intentionally about your financial life and make the most of what you've built. Hi, welcome to Wisdom for What's Next. I'm Megan Jewitt, co-founder and wealth advisor with Craft and Sage Wealth. Today we're going to be talking about a subject that's very near and dear to my heart. It's women and wealth focused, and unfortunately a little bit of a heavy topic today, but incredibly important, ⁓ especially for the women listening, and that is death. The loss of a loved one, obviously, is nothing that we could ever Expect or fully prepare for, but as we all know, in some way or fashion, this has affected all of us. It happens. And the best thing that you can be doing for yourself is to plan now. So I want to talk through today what I mean by planning for the loss of a loved one ahead of time to make the actual experience as smooth as it possibly can be. Obviously, during that time, the last thing you want to be worried about is your finances and your future financially and whether or not you're going to make it your job during that time is to honor the loved one that you have lost and to grieve that process. And the rest of this should just take care of itself. So that's why it's incredibly important for us to be planning ahead. What do I mean by planning ahead for this type of loss? As we all know, as I mentioned earlier, this is not something you can prepare for. None of us have that crystal ball to say, today's the day, or this is gonna be a really challenging month or time for us. We never know that. So it's our job, especially as women, because as we all know, we're typically the ones that keep everybody afloat, to be as prepared as possible. I want to also make note that we're not just talking about death of a spouse today. We're also talking about the loss of a child, a parent, a family friend. ⁓ all of those things carry their own unique challenges in regards to planning ⁓ and maintaining a household, or maybe even helping as a friend for someone else that you care for that's going through these exact same things. One of the most important things we can do for ourselves as women, because statistics show we do outlive. Our male counterparts. I don't know why they make the best decisions all the time. I'm sure we've seen this, an example. But statistics would say and suggest that we outlive them. And what does that mean exactly? I know that there are many households that operate under a very conventional setting, right? The the men of the home manage the finances and they make those dis financial decisions for the family. And As women, we're natural caretakers. ⁓ that's just what we do. And so it's easy in life, as we all know, it moves incredibly fast to get siloed into those roles. But what I want to stress to you, and what I stress to the women that I work with, is understanding your finances and your total financial picture is incredibly important, even if you're not the one in that decision making seat. Even if that's not your responsibility to look at your monthly statement. ⁓ it's you need to understand these things. I know from personal experience having lost loved ones ⁓ that didn't know any of the things where they didn't know, you know, how their mortgage was paid every month. They didn't know if their spouse had life insurance, they didn't know any of those things. And that's nobody's fault. It's just the way, you know, life goes and and I just want to make sure that the people that we're working with are prepared as possible. So what does that mean? What do I mean by being as prepared as possible? You need to understand your finances. And that could be from understanding your deposits and inflows every month. What pays the bills? What do the bills look like? ⁓ the last thing you want to be doing while navigating the loss of a loved one is looking for a password. Or trying to get into their personal computer so you can get the bills paid. At the same time, you're processing so many other things that in the grand scheme of life are so much more important than this. So you need to understand your tax situation. Who files your taxes? Do you have a CPA? Do you do it yourself? Those are all things that you need to understand as your role in partnership. Another situation that I Have a lot of clients' experience is understanding their options. And this is really post-passing of a loved one, but understanding their options within Social Security, right? The loss of a loved one could create loss of income. Maybe there's a social security option where you can take more by utilizing your spouse's record instead of yours. Those are all strategies and things that you need to know exist, at least know they exist. ⁓ so when the time comes. And if and when that time comes, you'll be able to ask questions accordingly. Another interesting caveat that a lot of people don't understand is the the death of an ex-spouse. There are also Social Security options available to be able to utilize a former spouse's Social Security earnings record ⁓ for your own. These are all intricacies that you need to be talking with somebody about. ⁓ whether now or in the future, just to ⁓ have a basic understanding of what those options may look like. Working with an advisor while your your partner or your child or whoever that may be is alive is incredibly important to understand your role with working with that person. And what I mean by that is you should be working with somebody who values you both, who listens to both sides of your worries, your concerns, your goals, your objectives, and really tries to find a way if there's a variance in. For instance, if there is a variance or a difference in you and your spouse's appetite for risk, you want to make sure you're working with somebody that listens and understands both of you. A good advisor, and I I know I'm biased, but I think anyone would tell you a good advisor is not necessarily someone who is going to boast about all of the textbook knowledge they know. If you're in this industry, you should know your stuff. The best advisors I have found, ⁓ even through personal experience, are ones that actively listen to you. ⁓ it they should hear you, understand you, and you should be able to have the ultimate trust with that person. It's interesting. ⁓ and this number keeps rising, actually, ⁓ from what I have read, but a staggering 75% of women change financial advisors within a year after their spouse passing. And the ⁓ main reasons being stated about that are just they don't feel heard. They don't feel understood, they feel stupid for asking a question, which just Lights me on fire because I don't ever want anyone that I work with to ever feel stupid for asking me a question. This is what I'm here for. So just know that. During this time, it's so much easier to try to prepare yourself and make yourself an active ⁓ person in your overall financial experience while everyone is living, before you've experienced this loss. Because then when that transition happens, you know, I got this. I understand, I know when the time comes exactly who I'm gonna be calling. Where I can go to find resources or get help with these things. But for now, you're going to do what's most important, which is take care of yourself and honor the legacy of those that you love. I always tell people who I speak with that it's okay if you don't work with me. I totally understand. But I don't want you to leave this room without understanding how you can advocate for yourself. And I especially tell women this. We need to be able to speak up and have a voice, especially when it comes to your financial picture. And so the best ways and things you can ask an advisor that you are interviewing to be able to advocate for yourself are: are they a fiduciary? What does that mean exactly? So that means that they are ethically responsible to keep your best interest first. They are making decisions on a proactive basis that is in. your best interest and they're actively managing your portfolio and your financial objectives. ⁓ are they independent? Do they have a sales quota? ⁓ do they have any specific allegiance to any sort of product or service or company? You need to understand those things when engaging and working with somebody. This next one is my absolute favorite. How are you compensated? If they stumble through that at all, they are not your person. They should be very upfront, cards face up and forward with exactly how they are compensated. The last thing I tell women that I have conversations with as far as what they can say to advocate for themselves and the questions that they need to be asking those that they are working with is how often should I expect to hear from you? And what is your communication style? Because you want to make sure that you are working and partnering with somebody that truly gets you, that truly understands how important it is for you to hear from them. what type of communication style you prefer and expect, as well as your overall fear, goals, objectives, those are all things and you should have a comfortable space in which to discuss those things with the person that you are trusting ⁓ with your financial sacrifices along the way and this legacy that you're trying to carry on. So if you don't learn anything else from today's podcast, just know please, please do your very best to be as prepared as possible, become an active role In your overall financial picture. And then if and when the time comes, which it will, make sure you advocate for yourself. Thank you for joining me today. As always, I want to hear from you. So if you've got questions or comments or topics you would like to hear me discuss, please feel free to complete the contact form on our website, craftansage.com. ⁓ that is a great way to interact with me and give me inspiration for things to come. If you enjoyed today's podcast, please subscribe and follow Wisdom for What's Next and share it with your family and friends. Thank you so much. Thanks for listening to Wisdom for What's Next. We hope today's conversation gave you something useful to think about as you consider your own financial life and what may be ahead. If you enjoyed the episode, be sure to follow or subscribe so you don't miss future conversations. Until next time, from all of us at Craft Sage Wealth, thanks for joining us.