Widows

What to do when your spouse passes

When a spouse passes, you may feel the need to keep busy and many widows or widowers find taking care of things helps, as there are required tasks to complete in the midst of grief. To help, we’ve gathered the key steps, paperwork and agencies that need to be contacted here in one place.

Your support professionals—financial planner, lawyer, insurance advisor—will assist as you navigate the practical aspects of death. If you are in this situation, we are sorry for your loss.

What happens now?

Widows or widowers tell me their memory of this time is limited, so we recommend writing everything down. If you have a son, daughter or best friend that can come along with you, they can help create a folder for all of the paperwork you’ll need.

Here’s what I talk to my clients about in this time, beginning with creating an easily accessible folder for all of the paperwork you need and will collect.

Do you need to hire a lawyer?

If the estate is complex, and you are unsure, it may help to hire a lawyer who can guide you through the process.

Another option is Estate at Ease, a service we offer to our existing clients that can quickly and accurately prepare forms and documents to settle the estate.

Estate at Ease does not provide legal, accounting or insurance services and complies with the privacy laws of Canada.

There may be more steps that apply to your situation.

Download the After a Death Checklist for a full list of steps, contacts, and phone numbers.

When you're ready

If you are a current client or would like to have me handle your investments, I will help you:

Update your financial plan
Create a cash flow plan specific to your new income and expenses
Weigh any decisions about cashing out investments
Revisit your estate plan

In the meantime, we’re here to help.

What our clients say

I’ve worked with Deneen for many years. She’s provided the guidance I’ve needed since my husband passed. She’s a pleasure to spend time with, knowledgeable, and we meet regularly.

Now that we’re retired, we’re getting into serious planning – what we can afford, cost of living, longevity, and taxation. We really trust Deneen’s advice. She has been understanding of our changing requirements.

We value reliability, responsiveness and relationships. Deneen exemplifies these attributes. She listens to our needs, understands our risk tolerance and has developed a plan allowing us to achieve our financial goals.

She helps guide us, answers our questions, and anticipates issues. We know the plan is specific to us and that it’s evaluated annually so  adjustments are made, depending on what’s changed in the markets and our life stage. We learn every time we meet her.

Want to get in touch?

Schedule a complimentary consultation.