Recently widowed? Some tips to get your finances in order

Abhinav Gulechha Soham Financial PlannersIn our country where there is a growing trend of working couples, the reality is that there is a vast majority where it’s only the husband who shoulders the burden of earning and the wife is relegated into taking care of the home and kids. Also, couples do not communicate on money matters, especially issues relating to death and the what-if scenarios emerging from it. A major reason for this is the faulty mindset of men to think that “money” is a domain reserved for them and women don’t have anything to do with it. Calamity strikes when the husband suddenly dies. Apart from the trauma and grief, wife gets a platter of financial & other issues to deal with, without any background or knowledge on these aspects. If you have recently been widowed, my heartiest sympathies are with you. In this article, I have tried put across some suggestions as to how you can ease the pain of this transition and secure your family’s future. A) Get up and get going: I agree it’s not easy, but remember that it is THE most important step you need to take. Come out of the shell, drop the grief and inertia that holds you back. Realise that what you do now is crucial to the long term well being of yourself and kids & any delays will only worsen the situation. So, it’s time to wipe the tears, and be all set to go.Start with the files, make a list (either on a plain paper or on an excel sheet) of all the financial assets and liabilities, bank accounts, credit cards, lockers etc. Establish contact with your husband’s employer to know the formalities for getting the employee benefits like EPF and gratuity. Get in touch with any professionals your husband had been working with to cross check your list and if you missed anything.  Once the list is done, start lodging claims supported by proper documentation. Update the excel sheet with the progress of the work so that that you don’t lose track. In case of rejection of claims, don’t delay in making use of grievance redressal mechanisms like the Banking and Insurance Ombudsman. B) DO NOT take any impulsive financial decisions:Once you start receiving the proceeds, trust me, there will be a lot of unsolicited advice from relatives and friends on what to do with that money. There can be a temptation to sell the flat and belongings and move to another city to live with parents. Also, there will be no dearth of unscrupulous product sellers who will sniff the money from the distance and will coax you into purchasing toxic financial products. Desist from all such temptations. Keep in mind, your one wrong decision at this point can even jeopardise your family’s financial future.C) Create a trusted group of the right professionals for advice:Along with the process of collating details and lodging the claims, it’s vital to start creating an advisory board of trusted professionals who put your interest first and give you the right advice. Instead of working in isolation, it is important to connect these professionals with each other to ensure there are no understanding and implementation gaps. • Financial Planner: A planner will help you in setting your financial affairs right, assist you in getting the proceeds from various places, create a well diversified and secure investment portfolio in line with your risk profile, help create some sort of a regular monthly income stream to meet the household expenses and also frame a concise action plan to help you transition this phase of life. Make sure that the financial planner is regulated by a professional body like SEBI and puts your best interests first. You can visit the SEBI website for the list of Registered Investments Advisors (RIA) and select one after a proper due diligence.• Advocate: An advocate will help you with transitioning of your husband’s estate into your hands in accordance with the Indian succession laws.  If your husband left a will, advocate will help you proper advisory and documentation relating to putting it up for probate or else, helping you get a succession certificate from the court. • Chartered Accountant (CA): It is crucial to get in touch with a CA to get an update on the past and existing liabilities of your husband under the Income Tax Act. Apart from filing income tax return, he can guide you with the tax implications on the proceeds received and various transactions proposed in this phase. A note to the dear husbands Dear Mr. Husband, if you are reading this article, it hopefully gives you some sense of what your wife can and will go through in case of YOUR unfortunate and sudden demise. So, without further delay, involve your wife now in your money matters, create some sort of an emergency kit/ documentation that your wife can readily access, tell her what to do if you’re not around, introduce her to the right professionals, so that she doesn’t have to deal with strangers. This will ensure that even when you are not around, your family gets to reap the fruits of the tree called “financial well being”, seeds of which you are so carefully and lovingly sowing for them right now. Abhinav Gulechha is a member of The Financial Planners' Guild, India and is the Founder of M/s Soham Financial Planners & is registered with SEBI as an Investment Adviser.