Читать книгу Financial Security For Dummies - Eric Tyson - Страница 45

Of course, everyone ultimately passes away, and we all hope to live a long, healthy life and go peacefully into the night at a ripe old age. But medical problems, accidents, and other largely unpredictable events can cause an untimely death of a spouse or other important loved one.

I’ve worked with numerous people and had other friends who have dealt with this situation, and the challenges are numerous. Here are some things to consider:

 Take some mental health time off. With the passing of a spouse, in addition to the loss of companionship, you are thrust into a new role and unchosen lifestyle. Think about all of the things that your partner took responsibility for in your household. Allow some time and space to grieve and to adjust to your new and unplanned role.

 Find someone to lean on. It could be a relative, a friend, or both who can help you to cope with your new situation and be a sounding board. Just be sure that the person you’re relying upon is trustworthy and without an agenda. A counselor or psychologist may be useful as well for a period of time. Check them out and interview at least two or three and beware of those who are prone to push continual and costly sessions as far as the eye can see. If religious, some organizations offer very reasonably priced six- to eight-week group sessions for support and guidance. One example is http://mournerspath.com. Check out your faith group for offerings.

 Move slowly with important decisions, especially financial ones. You might consider selling your home, moving, making changes to investments, and so on. Any of those could be a reasonable thing to do with proper time, thinking, and research. But give yourself some time to adjust and process all that has happened and changed. You also want to be sure you aren’t being pushed into making a decision by a salesperson or anyone else with a financial conflict of interest or some other agenda.

 Know where everything is. In some couples, responsibility is shared for dealing with financial matters whereas with other couples, one person deals with everything. Regardless, each of you needs to know where everything (for example investment accounts, insurance policies, wills and estate documents, car titles, and so on) is located and dealt with.