Does Your Spouse Know the Answers to these 7 Financial Questions?

[av_one_full first min_height=\’\’ vertical_alignment=\’\’ space=\’\’ custom_margin=\’\’ margin=\’0px\’ padding=\’0px\’ border=\’\’ border_color=\’\’ radius=\’0px\’ background_color=\’\’ src=\’\’ background_position=\’top left\’ background_repeat=\’no-repeat\’ animation=\’\’ mobile_display=\’\’]
[av_heading tag=\’h3\’ padding=\’10\’ heading=\’What Financial Conversation Should I Have With My Spouse?\’ color=\’\’ style=\’\’ custom_font=\’\’ size=\’\’ subheading_active=\’\’ subheading_size=\’15\’ custom_class=\’\’][/av_heading]

[av_hr class=\’invisible\’ height=\’20\’ shadow=\’no-shadow\’ position=\’center\’ custom_border=\’av-border-thin\’ custom_width=\’50px\’ custom_border_color=\’\’ custom_margin_top=\’30px\’ custom_margin_bottom=\’30px\’ icon_select=\’yes\’ custom_icon_color=\’\’ icon=\’ue808\’ font=\’entypo-fontello\’]

[av_textblock size=\’\’ font_color=\’\’ color=\’\’]
A few years ago, I was at a comedy show and the comedian joked; “Have you heard that half of all marriages end in divorce”? While most of the audience nodded, he continued; “Did you ever consider how the rest of them end?….in death! So when you get married, it is going to end badly.” Of course there was laughter, but today I hope to help you avoid making a bad situation worse.

A couple of years ago, my staff transferred an important call to me, and when I answered, the voice said “my husband Bill died last Friday and he said to call you if anything happened to him”. I had only met Nancy a couple of times, although Bill would come to see me on his own once or twice a year, we would have a great talk and he would say “I like the way you think” or something similar. See, Bill had been a stock broker and was a “do it yourself” person when it came to his finances. I referred them to an attorney to update their estate plan, but that was about all I assisted them with. I wondered why he kept coming in to see me. One day, after about a half dozen of these meetings, it occurred to me why. I asked “Are you interviewing me to help Nancy after you die”? He didn’t answer; he just looked at me and smiled. At each meeting, he would update me as to his overall health, “I had bypass surgery” or “I got a new stent since I saw you last” and then go on to tell me he felt great and it was no big deal, until it was.

Shortly thereafter, I met with Nancy, and she showed me what Bill had put together in their portfolio. He had sold off a number of investments and left a lot of cash. It appeared like he was trying to simplify things for her in anticipation of dying. Even with that planning and preparation, it took over a year to get everything in order and even today there are still a few details that need to be worked out.

This was actually one of the least disruptive surviving spouse situations that I have dealt with in my career. Usually, by the time I meet someone who has lost a husband or wife, they are overwhelmed, confused, anxious, and stressed over what is their current situation and how will they get by. Even Nancy, who had more energy and enthusiasm for this work than a half dozen other people in her situation, was stressed and exhausted by the time we reached the 8 month mark.

In my experience, this usually happens when one spouse is primarily responsible for investment and money decisions, and the other one trusts that they are doing a great job. In order to relieve some of the stress and anxiety that a surviving spouse experiences, here are 7 things you should talk about:

1. How does our estate plan work? Knowing who is in charge of what and how things pass to the survivor, can help avoid costly mistakes. Also, it will need to be updated in a timely fashion to reflect the death of a spouse.
2. Who are our financial advisors? Both spouses should at least meet the tax person, attorney, brokers and financial planners on your team. There are a number of cases where the advisors have no rapport with the survivor. This can be very detrimental to the financial security of the surviving spouse!
3. Do both of you know what accounts you have? Finding all of the assets can be a real chore. Often, accounts are missed, lost or overlooked. Every state has an unclaimed property bureau holding hundreds of millions of dollars and more in assets from these missing accounts.
4. Do you know and understand what is in those accounts? When I ask the surviving spouse how they decided upon the investments, usually I hear “my (husband or wife) bought that” and they just left it there. I have had people come in with investments they had held for years without knowing what it was. Often things have changed in the markets and they are now losing money they can’t afford to lose.
5. What do I want done with my remains? Burial, cremation, other? Trying to guess someone else’s last wishes can be very stressful.
6. How much income will I have? Not knowing if the bills can be paid can be quite traumatic for the remaining spouse. Understanding survivor benefits on things like pensions and social security can make a difference of tens of thousands of dollars in annual income.Will there be enough? Is there life insurance?
7. Where will I live? Maintaining a house can be overwhelming for a single person. Can you afford to stay in your current home? Do you want to?

 It’s never easy to lose a loved one. Please take these steps to ease some of the burden your spouse will experience when you die. One of the best things that will come from your discussion is the peace of mind you will experience. You can face life together with confidence, knowing that when you are gone, your spouse will be ok. If you aren’t sure how to start the conversation, or would both like to come in for a “facilitated” conversation, give us a call, and we can help you gain the peace of mind that comes with taking care of these important life changes.
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]

[av_social_share title=\’Share this entry\’ style=\’\’ buttons=\’\’ share_facebook=\’\’ share_twitter=\’\’ share_pinterest=\’\’ share_gplus=\’\’ share_reddit=\’\’ share_linkedin=\’\’ share_tumblr=\’\’ share_vk=\’\’ share_mail=\’\’][/av_social_share]

[av_hr class=\’default\’ height=\’50\’ shadow=\’no-shadow\’ position=\’center\’ custom_border=\’av-border-thin\’ custom_width=\’50px\’ custom_border_color=\’\’ custom_margin_top=\’30px\’ custom_margin_bottom=\’30px\’ icon_select=\’yes\’ custom_icon_color=\’\’ icon=\’ue808\’]

[av_comments_list]