Life Transition Planning: Do You Need a Financial Advisor in the New Year?
Navigating Your Wealth Through Times of Change
If there’s one thing that serves as a constant throughout our lives, it’s change. Leaving home, beginning a career, getting married, building a family, navigating career transitions, divorce, and loss of loved ones are just a few examples of events that mark periods of great adjustment. These life transitions impact us emotionally, but also financially, and it’s smart to have a trusted financial advisor by your side to help you navigate the practical financial aspects of these different phases of life. If you think the New Year will bring a time of change and evolution in your life, it might be the perfect time to begin working with a professional you trust. In this article, we’ll discuss life transition planning for five specific, common scenarios and share how a financial advisor can offer guidance.
Life Transition Planning: Economic Windfalls
Few things are more life-changing than receiving a large amount of money at once. Whether it’s from an inheritance, stock market success, or winning the lottery, it can upend everything in your world. Contrary to popular belief, not all the effects may be positive.
A financial advisor can help you deal with the myriad issues of sudden economic windfalls. Taxes are the most common area of concern. Asset management, legal liability, and investment strategies also come into play. A qualified financial advisor can help you manage all these issues and learn how you can protect and build greater financial security for yourself and your family.
SEE ALSO: So, You’ve Inherited Money – Now What?
Life Transition Planning: Retirement
Is 2024 the year you’ll retire? It’s an exciting moment to think about, and you’ve probably been diligently planning for quite some time by contributing to one or more retirement accounts. What happens when the day finally comes, though? Do you have a retirement income plan in place?
The fact is the accumulation phase of retirement is the one that most people are comfortable with. You save and save – and save some more! What becomes less clear, and less comfortable, is beginning to spend your nest egg and figuring out how to do so in a savvy way. A financial advisor can guide retirees through the massive changes post-work life causes. Taxation is again a consideration in this life transition planning, but other issues play a part, too. Medical needs, travel and leisure planning, investments, and distribution management are all concerns that an experienced professional can assist with. Keep a financial expert close after you retire so you can enjoy those years responsibly and with little financial anxiety.
Life Transition Planning: Divorce
Nearly half of married people will face the life transition of divorce at some point. If you are recently divorced or will be soon, your emotions are likely running the gamut. Even amicable divorces can generate a lot of emotional intensity, as well as financial question marks.
Divorce settlement terms are utterly final, and once they’re agreed to, there’s seldom a way to change them. Home sale proceeds, joint accounts, financial support, shared debts, and even spousal retirement benefits all come under the spotlight at divorce settlement hearings.
Consider hiring a financial advisor to work alongside your attorney. A financial expert can steer you through the volatility by finding practical solutions for disputes. They can also help you find “hidden” marital assets you may be entitled to in order to help you remain financially secure.
SEE ALSO: Year-End Charitable Giving: 5 Strategies to Know
Life Transition Planning: Death of a Spouse
Whether foreseeable or sudden, a spouse’s death is one of the most devastating events imaginable. There’s no way to lessen the impact grief has on surviving partners and their families. It can be very challenging to think about finances in the aftermath, but spousal death typically carries significant financial impacts that must be addressed.
Many people use financial advisors to help with estate planning before their passing. Such experts can also help with life transition planning after a spouse’s death. They can assist with budgeting, spousal investments, and completing paperwork as survivors begin looking toward the future.
Take Forward Steps with Life Transition Planning
Major events serve as milestones in our lives, both good and bad. Not everyone experiences them the same way, and the details differ according to the situation. One thing that’s constant, though, is that they all necessitate taking a look at your finances.
As the New Year approaches, it’s a good idea to tighten up your life transition planning. Financial advisors can be a great help in anticipating and managing these changes, putting you in a better position to survive and thrive. When speed bumps turn into mountains, a financial advisor can help you climb over them one step at a time.
At Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors, we offer both experience and vision to help you achieve your financial goals. If you’re in the midst of a life transition or you expect to be soon, contact us now to learn more about our services.
Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors, LLC is a registered investment advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). This material is intended for informational purposes only. It should not be construed as legal or tax advice and is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified attorney or tax advisor.
