When a spouse passes away

Losing a loved one is one of the hardest and devastating thing that we go through. Not only is the grieving process tough, but you typically do not have much time to grieve before you have to tackle the tasks of preparing for memorial services and taking the proper legal and financial steps following the death. 

Discussed below are five key steps that you can take to move forward financially after losing your spouse. Having a list of tasks can make the process a bit easier on you as you can separate what needs to be taken care of immediately from the things that can wait. 

1. Don’t feel as if you need to do everything all by yourself
2. Don’t think you have to do everything at once
3. Enlist the expertise of your professional advisors
4. Understand that life will be different 
5. Be prepared for a lot of paperwork

See Nickolas Strain, When a spouse passes away, Investment News, August 11, 2020.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.