[USER]

Suppose you FIREd at 51 and you are the spouse that does all the financial planning, estimated taxes, Roth conversions, deciding how much to pull from which account etc.

You come down with a terminal illness yet you still have at least a year to prep. It is what it is, and you want to leave your affairs in order.

How do you ensure your spouse can take over during the time you are incapacitated, as well as after you pass?

A few things already in place:

– a CPA that submits taxes every year and is available for consultations (tax planning and strategy).

He could do estimated taxes and perhaps advise on amount for Roth conversions each year.

But he is older – 65, so maybe time to find another one as a plan B?

– will, poa, advance directives, term life insurance expiring in 10 yrs – done

– beneficiaries on all accounts and pod (point of death) on checking accounts – done (kids are young adults, know some financial stuff but not nearly enough – on some accounts they are beneficiaries or they split with my spouse)

– 2 Schwab brokerage accounts send dividends at different times and I have a calendar with them and go in and move them into snoxx or a Hysa so they earn interest (cause Schwab doesn’t put them automatically in fund like vanguard does) – how to get spouse used to do that, even if just to go on each month and do it? Set some kind of alarm????

– I budget and track expenses monthly and net worth every 4 mo.

I also look at our investments every few months and see what to sell or hold in IRAs – should I just move everything to index funds so it’s less complexity?

Just let the index funds ride till 59.5 when remaining spouse can pull from them?

Should I sign up with one of those online products to track net worth – which one is safe and easy to use?

– spouse will be on ACA so has to stay under certain income to get max credits – should I again set up some kind of calendar alarms for Roth conversions or selling stocks (capital gains) at end of year – track dividends and any earned income, see how much room left to get to the ceiling income for ACA purposes?

– in terms of who gets which type of account I understand that brokerages and hsa are better for spouse to inherit.

Traditional IRAs will be split, Roth too – spouse may need Roth for ACA purposes (to stay under a certain income)
– I manage the cash on Treasury direct and it gets sent to a Hysa when matured.

Spouse knows how to buy tbills on TD but may forget to do it – set alarms? Does anybody know what Treasury Direct does to 5 year bonds if you pass?

There is no way to set up beneficiary that I can find in TD – anybody knows how???

– what else am I missing? What tools can I use to make this easier for spouse (and kids down the line) to take over?

On my end I use excel spreadsheets but not sure that’s the most efficient to transition…

P.s. we prob don’t have enough for a financial advisor and I don’t trust them anyways.

[Ana]

My 45 yr old active and fit husband died last year, and even when I did all the “numbers” I wish I had a living trust.

It depends on each individual situation, but I do recommend speaking to a estate attorney in regards of your state in specific laws, situations etc.

Unfortunately we don’t talk much about death scenarios, but talking about death doesn’t make it closer the same way than avoiding the topic doesn’t push it away.

[Kristin]

Simplify. Less accounts, less moving parts. Definitely move things to index funds.

If Roth conversions are in your plans, take advantage of married status for taxes in year of death and subsequent year, then head of household if there are dependent children.

If you can move money from Schwab to vanguard to make reinvestment automated do it.

Make sure all vehicles, property and bank accounts have the titles, ownwership, or beneficiaries how you want them.

Make sure your will is properly executed and signed.

[Diane]

It’s so important for the other spouse and the children to get up to speed and get involved.

It’s not fair for a grieving spouse to have to go from zero to sixty on all financial matters in addition to handling everything else there will be to do.

My dad talked to me about a lot, just to have someone to talk to about stuff, and it was extremely valuable after his passing.

Adult kids should be educated as much as possible about the family finances too. Also the CPA can be counted to advise on many things.

Maybe make the introduction so family members are familiar with him or her.

[Jeremy]

There’s definitely a lot of questions here and I am not knowledgeable on most of those topics.

I think a financial calendar could be an idea for reminding of certain items, but I think the best idea could be to switch financial

advisors/have a succession plan for that so they can help guide your spouse and children through financial changes in the future.

Definitely a tough situation but good on you for trying to get ahead of it and set everyone up for success

[Tom]

We have put together a financial 3 ring binder listing the planned steps forward. It is updated as needed, annually at least.

My wife was diagnosed with cancer 30 days before retirement.

The treatment almost did her in, literally. Just to make things more interesting I decided to have heart issues during her recovery.

I’m the math nerd yet she is must likely to survive the longest.
Our book lists step by step what the foreseeable future holds.

It has 3 scenarios. We, her or he carries on. Even if we both carry on for years to come, mental decline is a potential hazard.

To that end, we have simplified it to 75% FSKAX, 20% Fixed income and 5% HYSA.

[Author]

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