Wealth Management for Widows

Dealing with the loss of a loved one is one of the most difficult times many people face in life. It brings profound emotional change and, in the case of many widows, ushers in a new financial reality that can feel overwhelming at first. Within a short period of time, widows may find themselves making important financial decisions, typically without the partner who once shared those responsibilities. Even widows used to managing their household’s wealth regularly may need to make some adjustments to their financial plan. The death of a spouse can have meaningful impacts on Social Security, income, taxes, investments and more. While decisions during challenging life events can seem daunting, they also present an opportunity to evaluate and realign a financial plan with a widow’s new circumstances and long-term goals.

In this article, Fisher Investments will explore some of the most important financial considerations widows face and how a disciplined wealth management approach can help you turn a difficult transition into a plan that supports your financial needs, priorities and long-term goals.

What are the Immediate Priorities for Finances After Losing a Spouse?

After the death of a spouse, it is natural for priorities to shift and for many aspects of daily life—including making financial decisions—to feel different. While there is no single “right” timeline when it comes to mourning or moving forward, some widows find it helpful to first focus on a few core areas that can help them begin to lay a foundation for their financial future.

In the immediate aftermath of a spouse's passing, widows may want to refrain from making major, irreversible financial decisions unless they are truly necessary. Selling a home, dramatically shifting your investment portfolio, making large gifts to family or making other dramatic lifestyle choices can generally wait a few months or more. Instead, the immediate focus for managing wealth should be on ensuring bills and other expenses are paid and understanding your full financial picture. To start, consider these key questions:

• How has the death of your spouse affected your income and expenses?
• Are you eligible for life insurance payouts?
• Do you have access to all your spouse’s accounts?
• How will their assets be distributed?
• Will your tax rate change?
• Do you need to update your estate plan?
• Are you eligible to receive their Social Security benefits?

These are just some of the important questions that may need answering before you can evaluate whether your broader wealth management plan needs to be adjusted.

The period following the death of a spouse isn’t easy. The combination of emotional stress and financial complexity is why this period deserves a thoughtful, structured and patient approach. If needed, a wealth management professional, loved ones or trusted friends can help you organize your accounts and create a short-term plan to ensure your expenses are covered while you gather information. Each situation is unique, and some widows have more flexibility to maintain the status quo than others, but we believe it’s generally beneficial to avoid making forced financial decisions, when possible. Unfortunately, widows can be targeted by bad actors—or even well-meaning actors with insufficient experience—during this period of stress. That’s why we believe widows should be wary of aggressive sales tactics, “special opportunities” or financial solutions that are too complex to be explained clearly. Making sound financial decisions rarely depends on acting quickly, so taking the time to fully understand any material changes to your financial plan or investment strategy is critical.

How Can You Adjust Your Financial Plan After Losing a Spouse?

Once widows have taken a comprehensive inventory of their new financial reality, it can be appropriate to consider how a financial plan may—or may not—need to be adjusted. While a comprehensive financial plan extends beyond just investments, ensuring a wealth management strategy can meet a widow’s needs is critical.

For many widows, adjusting an investment strategy starts with redefining their long-term investment goals, time horizon, spending needs and comfort with market volatility. Spending, in particular, can change dramatically when a surviving spouse is on their own—so having a realistic understanding of your expenses, and whether those expenses are discretionary (travel, gift giving, etc.) or non-discretionary (utilities, groceries, medical expenses) can be a good place to start. Like many other investors, a common mistake widows make is underestimating the growth they’ll need from their investment strategy. Following a traumatic event like losing a spouse, it’s natural for widows to want to take a “conservative” approach, but that may not be what’s best for their long-term goals.

Assets, such as cash, bonds and real estate can feel like “safe” options given their relatively low—or at least in the case of real estate, low perceived—volatility. However, lower volatility assets often sacrifice the type of growth many widows and investors need from their wealth management plans to achieve their long-term goals. Inflation erodes spending power over time, and in the case of older widows, rising healthcare costs later in life—including the potential expense of in-home or other elderly care—can add up much more quickly than many anticipate.

To support long-term growth needs, widows may consider allocating a higher percentage of their assets to a well-diversified portfolio of stocks. Historically, stocks have provided superior long-term, inflation-adjusted returns compared to other asset classes such as bonds and cash.^[i] While the volatility associated with stocks can feel concerning—especially when a widow is relying on income from their portfolios—most stock market declines have been temporary. Therefore, the risk typically isn’t the volatility itself, but in emotional reactions to short-term market movements can have on a wealth management plan.

Ultimately, managing an investment strategy isn’t about avoiding risk altogether, but about helping to ensure your wealth management plan balances investment-related risks with the risk of not achieving your financial goals. These risks change over time, so ongoing monitoring and adjustments can help widows feel confident about their financial circumstances throughout their retirement journey.

What are Tips for Creating a Wealth Management Plan for Widows?

One of the priorities many widows have is ensuring they are able to generate enough income to cover their expenses and priorities. Income can come from a variety of sources following the death of a spouse. Some widows are currently employed or have other business or rental income. Others are entitled to payments from their deceased spouse’s pension, annuities or other insurance arrangements. Depending on their age and other eligibility requirements, widows may receive their own Social Security benefits or the benefits of their spouse. However, the older a widow is when their spouse passes, the higher likelihood at least some portion of their income will come from their investments.

The desire to produce income is another reason some widows emphasize income-producing assets in their wealth management plans. Assets such as bonds, money-market securities and certain high-dividend-paying stocks typically provide more income than the broader stock market. However, we believe the lure of “higher income” can create a false sense of security, particularly when broader market risks and long-term growth needs are overlooked.

An income-focused strategy often underemphasizes important investment risks—for example, bonds can still default and dividends aren’t guaranteed—and can limit growth potential. Bonds, money-market securities and high-dividend paying stocks can be part of a well-diversified investment strategy—depending on a retiree’s goals and the prevailing market environment—but over-emphasizing income can come at a cost.

That’s why we believe widows should focus on total return—income plus capital appreciation—and employ a “homegrown dividend” approach to generating income. This approach involves selectively selling assets to supplement portfolio income to meet your spending needs. Depending on the account type and a widow’s tax situation, a homegrown dividend approach can be more tax-efficient than a traditional income strategy while also satisfying their growth needs.

Updating an Estate Plan for Widows

Unfortunately, few people understand the importance of legacy planning more than widows. After the loss of a spouse, creating or updating your estate plan is a practical step in bringing your financial affairs in line with your new circumstances. Even if your estate and wealth management plan was well designed in the past, it was likely built around a different family structure and, in many cases, different long-term assumptions and priorities.

One of the first areas to review is beneficiary designations on your financial accounts and, if applicable, insurance policies. The beneficiaries in your estate plan should match the beneficiary information you have provided to investment custodians and insurance companies to quell any doubt or confusion in the event of your passing. If they aren’t updated, they can easily conflict with your intentions. Making sure your beneficiary information is current is one of the simplest and most effective ways to ensure your assets are directed according to your wishes.

It’s also important to revisit powers of attorney and healthcare directives. These documents determine who can make financial or medical decisions on your behalf if you’re unable to do so. In many cases, a spouse is named in these roles, so appointing another family member or trusted friend is both necessary and prudent. Having the right people in place provides practical protection and helps ensure decisions can be made smoothly if the need ever arises.

If you’re already updating these areas, it can also be a good time to review the broader structure of your estate plan. This may include updating or reassessing trustees, executors or guardians, as well as considering if your goals for family or philanthropic pursuits have evolved. Updating an estate plan doesn’t always require drastic changes, but we believe it should be approached as an effort to realign your documents with your life. A clear, up-to-date plan helps ensure your wishes are understood and your affairs are easier to manage.

Understanding Wealth Management Options for Widows

Evaluating your financial plan after the death of a spouse can be emotional and overwhelming. While many widows are fully capable of managing their financial lives, some widows seek support from wealth management professionals. Working with an objective third party can help bring a more balanced perspective to important financial decisions and provide clear guidance on if—and where—adjustments to a financial plan may be appropriate. But it’s worth remembering that not all financial advice is created equal, and not all financial professionals operate the same way.

One key distinction widows should consider when choosing the best wealth management team for their situation is whether their financial professional is a broker-dealer or a financial adviser. Broker-dealers primarily buy and sell securities, typically earning commissions or markups—including on proprietary financial products. As the regulatory landscape has evolved in recent years, broker-dealers are held to a higher standard of care than in the past. Broker-dealers, who previously were only required to recommend investments that were “suitable” for a client, must now provide recommendations they believe are in a client’s best interest. However, this standard of care only applies at the time of the recommendation.

By contrast, investments advisers have long been held to a fiduciary standard, which is the highest legal standard of care. Fiduciary investment advisers provide ongoing guidance and financial advice, and their legal obligations require them to always uphold their fiduciary duty. This means investment advisers act in the interests of clients for the duration of the relationship, not just at the time of an investment recommendation. Unless advisers are dual-registered as broker-dealers, they also don’t typically custody assets and aren’t incentivized to sell any proprietary products. The higher legal accountability and the potential for fewer conflicts of interest are why it may benefit widows to choose fiduciary financial advisers. For more on the differences between fiduciary investment advisers and other financial professionals, please visit our fiduciary-focused website.

Characteristics to Look for in a Wealth Manager

If you are a widow and have decided to seek professional financial guidance, we believe there are several qualities worth considering when evaluating a wealth manager. We think widows should consider how a firm’s holistic approach can help provide clarity during a period of transition and support their long-term goals. A money manager should provide more than just investment recommendations— they should deliver a comprehensive financial planning approach with personalized investment strategies catered to your unique circumstances. That’s why some of the best wealth managers take the time to understand their clients’ unique circumstances and financial priorities. We believe it is prudent to generally avoid wealth managers that offer one-size-fits-all solutions.

It's also important to evaluate a wealth manager’s investment philosophy, process and track record of success. We believe the best money managers follow a consistent, research-driven approach and are able to explain how their strategy is designed to manage risk, respond to market volatility and support your long-term goals. While past performance doesn’t guarantee future results, understanding how a money manager has helped clients in a variety of market environments can help you better evaluate your potential experience. We think widows should be wary of wealth managers who rely on market timing, over-emphasize non-repeatable predictions or can’t provide you with a long, verifiable history of the types of results their clients have achieved.

Make sure to understand how your money manager is compensated. Fiduciary advisers are typically fee-only and paid directly by clients. If an adviser says they are “fee-based,” then it’s possible the adviser is dual-registered as both an adviser and a broker-dealer, which can make it difficult to understand which role they are acting in at any given time. If you’re not sure, you can simply ask the adviser whether they are acting as a fiduciary for you. Transparent pricing and a clear explanation of services can help you compare financial management options and better understand the role of your financial professional.

Finally, consider the quality of communication and service. The right wealth management professional takes time to understand your unique situation, explains complex topics in straightforward terms and keeps you informed with regular updates and ongoing guidance. Trust, clarity, and alignment are essential. In our view, the best wealth manager should act as a long-term partner—helping you make informed decisions and stay focused on what matters most for your financial future.

How Fisher Investments Can Help Widows

Fisher Investments is an independent, fee-only investment adviser. Fisher Investments and its affiliates manage over $386 billion in assets under management, serving over 195,000 individuals, families, businesses and institutions around the world.*

With decades of experience, Fisher Investments specializes in helping widows transition through the difficulty of losing a spouse and setting them on a path to achieve their long-term financial goals. In addition to investment management, Fisher Investments can assist with a comprehensive set of financial planning services, including an estate plan evaluation, Social Security optimization, insurance education, corporate trustee support, generational wealth planning and more. We also can help connect you with vetted tax partners and CPAs who can help with tax planning and filing.

At Fisher, we don’t offer one-size-fits-all solutions. We take the time to get to know our clients personally, explain our approach in an easy-to-understand way and help tailor a wealth management plan that helps guide them wherever they are on their financial journey. Unlike some options available to investors where advisers are required to play a variety of parts—handling everything from paperwork and attracting new clients to portfolio management and client service—our professionals serve clients in their area of specialization. That way, Fisher Investments clients can feel confident they are receiving advice and service from someone dedicated to, and focused on, their needs.

We believe investors deserve simplicity and transparency when it comes to the fees we levy. We also believe an investment adviser’s interests should align with their clients’. That’s why we offer a simple, transparent advisory fee based on the size of the portfolio.

We invite you to contact us and learn more about how our client-first culture, time-tested investment process and suite of services can help widows like you take control of your financial future.

Learn More About Our Services Here

*As of 12/31/2025. Includes Fisher Investments and its affiliates.

^[i] Source: Finaeon, FactSet as of 1/2/2026