Give your valentine the most thoughtful gift ever

by | Feb 14, 2013 | Cheryl Curran, Family Talk

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Instead of giving your sweetie another trinket they will forget about within a week, why not give them the most thoughtful and caring gift you can give your spouse: A conversation about your finances. I realize this is not the most romantic gift, your spouse will thank you some day.

If you are like most married couples, you have divided up the household chores. This makes sense; it’s both efficient and keeps the peace. Unfortunately this often means that one member of the relationship takes over the banking, investment and retirement plan duties and the other pays little to no attention to that part of the household duties, as they have plenty on their plate as well. This may work out just fine for you as a couple, but what happens when one of you is not around anymore or incapacitated? As we all know, this can happen overnight with no warning, no matter what your ages.

I have worked with several clients who have lost their spouses to heart attacks, strokes and even accidents in the blink of an eye. The surviving spouse often times has no idea where all the investment and bank accounts are held, what the online passwords are or even how to log on to their home computer accounts.

They are in the midst of grieving and may have no idea how to free up cash for a funeral, where the copies of the wills are and who the current beneficiaries are on their retirement accounts.

Unfortunately this is not just limited to losing a spouse or partner. My brother and I went through this process following my father’s death. We had no idea if he had a will and if so, where it was kept. We found odd-looking keys at his home and wondered if they were for a safety deposit box or some other lock (we never did find out). It was a very challenging process both mentally and physically to grieve and try to sort out an estate with little to no information to go on. (To read more on this, please see my new eBook: The Transparent Legacy)

So this Valentine’s Day (or at least this month), be extra caring and give your loved one the gift of peace of mind and knowledge about your wishes, your finances and your passwords. But just to be sure you aren’t spending the month sleeping in the garage; you might want to also pick up those chocolates and that card.

This article was written by retired Merriman Wealth Advisor, Cheryl Curran.