Fearless Money Talks

13. The First Year After Loss: Financial Steps That Can Help New Widows with Samantha Garcia

Halbert Hargrove

Losing a spouse reshapes the pace of life in ways that aren’t easy to explain until you’re in it.

In this conversation, Brian Spinelli CFP®, AIF®, Kelli Kiemle AIF®, and this week’s guest, Senior Wealth Advisor Samantha Garcia CFP®, AIF®, CDFA® talk through what tends to unfold during that first stretch when grief is still raw and the financial to-dos arrive sooner than anyone expects.

Samantha shares what she’s witnessed with the widows she supports: the value of slowing down before making any big decisions, the way cash flow shifts once one income is gone, and how calmer things may feel when beneficiaries, estate documents, and simple household details are already organized. She also opens up about the parts that can catch families off guard, like account lockups at custodians and the weight that falls on an unengaged spouse who suddenly has to take the lead.

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