Personal Finance

The sudden unexpected death of a spouse or partner is an emotionally shattering experience… there’s almost nothing worse. And while money is the last thing you want to think about during such a traumatic time, it’s critical your financial wellbeing is safeguarded.

In a crisis, you don’t want to find yourself scrambling from the start. Your kids and your family depend on you.

So the first priority is to keep healthy in the wake of such an emotional tsunami.

Reducing stress should be a guiding principle in responding to the loss of a spouse. Because a lot of the physical and emotional consequences of losing a spouse comes from stress, people need to take better care of themselves and to seek support from friends.

Exercising, doing yoga and meditation, eating healthily and activating social supports like family and friends should be the starting point.

All this helps to think clearly and deal with the essential financial challenges which must be met.

. Get the documentation together.

Locate all of the important documents needed to sort things out, including superannuation statements, insurance policies, deeds, share and investment fund certificates along with bank and share statements. Plus, dig out that all important will.