To avoid having to eat cat food in those golden years, financial expert Catherine Sendell recommends people get their financial ducks in a row as early as possible.
At a talk hosted by the St. John’s United Church Gals Tuesday, Sendell offered some financial tips for women.
“Women should be part of the conversation around finance,” she said.
Shanna Lucas was inspired to invite Sendell, an investment advisor with RBC Dominion Securities, to speak because, she said, some women are not familiar with their household finances and are not prepared for the death of their spouse.
Sendell said one thing women can do is make sure they have a credit rating of their own, one that is not linked to their husband.
Having a bank account and a credit card in one’s name is a good way to start. Making purchases on the credit card and even taking out a small loan will help build credit.
She said getting into the credit system will help ease the transition into widowhood.
She advises building an emergency account equal to at least three months worth of living expenses.
“I think that’s a good rule of thumb,” said Sendell.
“Get that money aside and you know if something happens, you’ve got it there.”
This is because it can take time to settle an estate.
Sendell said her own mother passed away recently and she and her sister navigated the system to settle their mother’s financial affairs and even with everything being very straightforward it still took more than two months, but it could be longer.
After the death of a family member, it is important to have access to money fairly quickly because the funeral and burial, not to mention legal costs, will be quite costly.
To help, she said it is a good idea for people to pre-arrange and pre-pay for their funerals.
It is also important that people keep on top of their estate planning documents by making sure the beneficiaries are named and that they are still living.
She said typically spouses are named as beneficiaries but when one dies it is important to name someone else, otherwise the process can get bogged down in court when the other one dies.
“It is unnecessarily complicating things if you don’t keep on top of this,” said Sendell.
And once everything is in order, and all the documents are up-to-date, it is also important to let people know where they are, she said. Be sure to tell the executor and those appointed powers of attorney where to find the necessary documents.
For more information about investing and estate planning, including how to minimize taxation, contact a professional advisor.