Critical Financial Priorities During a Spouse's Health Crisis

When facing a spouse's serious illness, financial planning often takes a backseat to immediate concerns. However, addressing these critical areas now can prevent significant complications later. 

1. Secure Future Income Planning 

A partner's death dramatically impacts household cash flow. Social Security benefits drop to a single payment, pensions may disappear, yet living expenses rarely decrease proportionally. 

Calculate your potential income changes and determine whether you can maintain your lifestyle or what adjustments might be necessary. Financial planning software can help model these scenarios before they become reality. 

2. Organize Asset Documentation and Digital Access 

Create a comprehensive inventory of all assets and debts—something estate attorneys will require anyway. Modern financial software can automatically track accounts across multiple institutions, updating daily. 

Don't overlook personal property like jewelry, which can transfer through wills or separate instruction letters. Equally important: ensure you can access your spouse's digital accounts. Password managers like 1Password simplify this, but you need to know how to access them. A secure spreadsheet or written list works too, provided it's accessible when needed. 

3. Establish or Update Estate Documents 

While many view wills as asset-transfer tools, other elements prove more immediately crucial: 

• Financial power of attorney enables you to handle bills and accounts not in your name 

• Medical power of attorney grants healthcare decision-making authority 

• Guardianship provisions protect minor children in worst-case scenarios 

These documents prevent bureaucratic nightmares during already difficult times. 

4. Verify Insurance Coverage 

Review all policies—life, disability, and long-term care insurance—to confirm adequate coverage and current information. Check that addresses, billing details, and beneficiaries reflect your current situation. 

Many people purchase insurance then forget the specifics. Now's the time to refresh your memory and ensure everything aligns with your needs. 

5. Update Account Titles and Beneficiaries 

Most assets transfer through trusts or beneficiary designations rather than wills. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and annuities automatically go to named beneficiaries, while homes, bank accounts, and investment accounts may not. 

Consider consolidating multiple accounts where practical—those five different 401(k)s from your career history can often be streamlined for easier management. 

While this topic is difficult to address, taking action on these items now can spare you significant stress and complications during an already challenging time. 

Contact me to learn more. 

barry.boscoe@brightonadvisory.com 

Office: 818-342-9950 

Mobile: 818-802-0686