Do I need a financial advisor or a lawyer? -

My husband died unexpectedly. I need help getting my finances in order. Should I get a financial advisor or a lawyer? How can I find a good one?

I am so sorry for your loss I disagree with the first poster Assuming you are in the US You do need an attorney to deal with any estate issues - if you are the only beneficiary of the estate and you were named as beneficiary on the life insurance policies etc this involvement should be limited. You may find the attorney will be needed if you run into any snotty bank staff or prickly insurance folks (the attorney should be one that specializes in trusts and estates) Your best bet now would be to accumulate and make a list of all things your husband had from an insurance, retirement and investment perspective - If you don t know this watch your incoming mail as most of these send statements at least quarterly, I would also visit with the place where you husband was employed (HR group) - they can tell you information on his 401k and any other benefits available to you as his widow I would engage an attorney now and then develop this financial inventory and then have the attorney help you where required get it moved into your name etc I would not make any financial investment decisions for at least a year unless you have to. If you get a large payout from insurance go to your bank and get a jumbo CD. This will give you time to really research getting a good financial adviser. DO NOT FEEL RUSHED HERE best of luck

If you are the only benefactor then you don t really need a lawyer. You definitely need a financial adviser. You need to make sure that all the retirement account, insurance accounts, debts, assets,etc...are handled correctly. You need to know where you are financially. Mistakes you make now can have dire consequences and you are not going to be in any shape to make some of those decisions. Get an adviser and iron out the big things with a consultation. Don t sign a contract with one at the moment. Just pay them for their services. You can always sign a contract later if you wish. I wouldn t make any big decisions for about 6 months to a year right now. Just take an assessment and do what you have to do. No, offense to lawyers but many give bad financial advice. You need a lawyer to make sure all your legal bases are covered and a consult here might be to you benefit as well. But, you want a money person to handle your money. For peace of mind consult both. It won t cost you that much to meet with each a couple of times. I listen to, and read a lot about financial matters. I hear all the time about bad advice that lawyers give their clients about money. Again, I m not putting them down. They just don t know what they don t know.

My recommendation: o First, a lawyer. To handle probate, account title changes, any and all legal issues (NOT financial, tax or accounting issues). o Second, a CPA. Depending on the amount of assets involved and your own personal expertise, I would consider a CPA from a large, long-established firm -- not a one-man shop. Purpose is to help with any tax and or accounting-related issues. Pulling together a summary of your assets, liabilities, new worth, etc. o Third, a financial advisor. Before choosing a financial advisor, I would would ask quite a few people for their recommendations (the lawyer, the CPA, your bank, etc.). It s real important that you get someone who s reputable, who s good at what he/she does, and who s been in business for awhile. Lawyers, CPA s and Financial Advisors are all experts in their own fields, although they often will claim expertise that covers the gamut. However, it s a mistake to assume that only one of these specialists can handle all your needs. Finally, just a couple of added recommendations: o Begin learning (classes, reading, etc.) about how to handle your own financial affairs (e.g., taxes, investments, budgeting, etc.). It s a BIG mistake to rely solely on a experts and not having any understanding of what they are recommending. o NEVER, NEVER, NEVER take an expert s advice unless you understand what they are recommending and why. If necessary, get someone else to explain the advice in a way you understand. o NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give your lawyer, your CPA or your financial advisor control (e.g., power of attorney) over any of your accounts. You should have to personally initiate and sign off on any transactions in your accounts. o ALWAYS review your monthly statements (credit card, banking, investment) to make sure there are no transactions that have not been authorized by you.