Beneficiary Resource Center |
What To Do After A Loss: The First Year
Plan for your future.
Begin to make decisions you have postponed, including changing your residence and
investing your inheritance. It is also a good time to set financial goals, such as providing
for your children’s education and building a retirement nest egg. We offer this simple four-step process to help you identify your priorities and sort through your finances to make sure your needs are met. You may want to enlist the support of one or more financial professionals, and a certified public accountant and/or tax attorney. Talk To An AXA Advisors, LLC Financial Professional
Step 1: Define your goals
When you lose a loved one, chances are your priorities will change. Your financial goals will take many forms, some immediate, some long-term. For example:
- If the deceased was your household’s primary wage earner, generating an income may be your immediate goal.
- If you’ve lost an adult child, you may wish to provide for the future of your grandchildren.
- If a parent has passed away, you may need to care for your surviving parent during his/her golden years.
Step 2: Assess your finances
Next, you’ll need to take a look at your finances. If the deceased took care of the bills and investments, you may not even know where to start. The first thing to do is to simply gather together all brokerage and bank statements, retirement accounts, annuity and insurance policies, and a listing of the contents in your safe deposit box. Give them to your financial advisor. At the same time, you should prepare a simple budget to evaluate your income and expenses. This will help you understand your immediate financial situation.
Step 3: Make an investment plan
Once you know your financial situation, you can figure out strategies to help you meet your goals.
You may be well on your way to achieving some of them, if you haven’t already. However, there
may be others — perhaps new ones — that are far from being satisfied. Here is where a Financial Professional can really help. An advisor can provide invaluable advice on how to:
- Select a benefit payment plan — or combination of plans — that is best for you.
- Help manage your money to meet immediate needs.
- Invest to help achieve long-range objectives.
Step 4: Monitor results
Creating a plan is not a one-time event — and any plan developed in the wake of a significant
loss should be designed for change.
- Keep an eye on your investments to help achieve your immediate goals.
- Evaluate the services and successes of your financial advisor.
- When you feel able, you should solidify your long-term strategy and make necessary changes.
