Andrea was completely blindsided. After forty-one years of marriage, her husband blindsided her with a divorce. Although Andrea had a successful career, Mike had taken care of the finances. Now she had to learn to manage everything through a painful and emotional period. She was understandably overwhelmed. And when interviewing a few advisors, she felt as though they were all speaking a foreign language that she didn’t understand. When she came to us, our goal was to make her comfortable and confident, and to empower her in this new journey.
Andrea acquired her home in the divorce and half of the marital property and investments but needed help establishing a solid financial plan that reflected her individual goals and objectives. Andrea had many questions for our advisors relating to “what now” as she looks at her life:
- Should she sell her house and downsize, or can she afford to keep it?
- What level of lifestyle is appropriate for her now and what can she comfortably afford over the long-term?
- Since she was newly retired, will she be okay with just her assets? Would she need to go back to work?
How we helped:
During our meeting, we asked Andrea to walk us through her current financial situation and we helped to prioritize the decisions that needed to be made. Initially, Andrea thought she had to sell her house to free up cash, but after careful assessment, we helped her realize that was unnecessary. We helped Andrea confidently navigate the challenges ahead by focusing on three main components:
- Investment Management: We helped Andrea become comfortable with the concepts of markets, investing and risk, so that her investment strategy reflected her actual risk tolerance and financial situation. After a couple conversations, it was clear that her appetite for risk was different from her ex-husband’s.
- Insurance Review:Once Andrea’s divorce was finalized; she began receiving calls from brokers and insurance salesmen trying to convince her to invest in products not necessarily in her best interest. Fortunately, she brought the information to us, and we were able to independently review the materials and make recommendations that best met her needs. She has a daughter and is interested in legacy planning. We discussed appropriate options that didn’t compromise her need for flexibility and control.
- Estate Planning:A divorce requires an updated estate plan to reflect this major change in life. It was important for Andrea to ensure that her daughter would receive her assets in a tax-efficient manner in the event of her death even if she were to remarry.
Today, Andea is more confident and has a clear understanding of her financial affairs. She meets with our advisory team at intervals and takes advantage of many of the educational programs and seminars that we host at Theus Wealth Advisors.
