A Financial Checklist for Widows

An older woman sits at a desk looking at financial documents.

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I am at the point in my life when more of my friends and family members are becoming widowed. At a time when they are faced with a traumatic personal loss, they also have to deal with the finances and other tasks of daily living, a combination that can be overwhelming.

Stacy Francis is CEO of Francis Financial, in New York City, and author of Financial Help for Widows: A Complete Resource Guide. I spoke with Francis about the steps widows need to take right away and those that can be delayed.

What would be your top piece of advice to women in this situation?

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Ask for help. When my father passed away recently, we set up a checklist of all the things that needed to be done in the first two months and divided them among my stepmother, my brother and myself. For example, I notified the Veterans Administration because my father had received a VA disability benefit, which typically can continue to the surviving spouse.

How can you make your job easier?

Do one thing at a time. Map out your tasks on paper, which is much less intimidating than keeping them in your head. Each day, tackle a certain number of items, and parcel out what you can.

Widows need to know how much income they can count on. Where should they start?

The funeral home typically notifies Social Security, and you should follow up to see what benefits you are entitled to. For instance, if you are age 67 or older, you can get up to 100% of your spouse’s benefit amount. But note that if you have been receiving a 50% spousal benefit, that will stop. You can collect a smaller benefit as early as age 60, and you may also qualify for benefits if you’re caring for minor children.

What other sources of income can you tap?

If your spouse was receiving a pension, you need to know if you are entitled to survivor benefits, and if so, how much. If he was still working, contact his employer to see if he was owed back pay or deferred compensation, or if he had a life insurance policy. If you have a private policy, contact the insurer right away. Policies typically pay out within a week, and for a widow that can be a lifesaver.

A woman with gray hair looks at a laptop and thinks.

What about your expenses?

Pay immediate bills for such things as the mortgage, utilities and property taxes. Highlight subscriptions, memberships and other items that can be reduced or canceled. Change the name on things like utility bills to just yours. In more-complicated cases, such as joint accounts with financial institutions, you’ll need death certificates, so get at least 15 of them from the funeral home. Don’t close joint accounts for at least six months in case any checks or payments come into the account for the deceased spouse.

Once you have a handle on your immediate finances, what’s next?

Start to get a fuller picture of all your assets and liabilities — everything from bank, brokerage and retirement accounts to real estate and outstanding loans. If you don’t have all of this information, an estate lawyer, financial adviser or accountant can help do the heavy lifting.

Are there certain traps to avoid?

Don’t include personal information in the obituary. Keep your spending relatively conservative in the first few months, and don’t make any big financial decisions or follow gut reactions like moving hundreds of miles to be closer to your daughter. Wait till a year or two down the line.

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.

Janet Bodnar is editor-at-large of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, a position she assumed after retiring as editor of the magazine after eight years at the helm. She is a nationally recognized expert on the subjects of women and money, children's and family finances, and financial literacy. She is the author of two books, Money Smart Women and Raising Money Smart Kids. As editor-at-large, she writes two popular columns for Kiplinger, "Money Smart Women" and "Living in Retirement." Bodnar is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and is a member of its Board of Trustees. She received her master's degree from Columbia University, where she was also a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Business and Economics Journalism.