I’ve Received an Inheritance, Now What?
By: Kevin Flint, CFP®
Receiving an inheritance can easily create stress or a feeling of being overwhelmed. During what’s already an emotional time, numerous questions start flying through your mind:
- Should I pay off my debt?
- Should I make a gift to charity?
- What would the person who passed away want me to do?
It’s normal to feel that way. This short guide explains the steps to consider if you’ve recently gotten an inheritance.
Meet With A CFP® To Get A Plan In Place For The Inheritance
Instead, our recommended approach is to take some time and reflect on how the resources you’ve received change your goals and priorities.
This is the perfect time to engage with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Hess Financial to do a comprehensive examination of your financial situation. A planner will help you understand the most effective places to utilize your new resources and how they’ll impact your life. Then, they’ll help you outline the next steps based on what we discover through the planning and information-gathering process.
Your next step(s) could include, among many others:
- Build an emergency fund with 3-6 months of expenses for your household.
- Pay off any high-interest debt, such as credit cards, if applicable.
- Rebalance or reallocate the assets you’ve received in a way that aligns with your personal goals.
- Create a plan for charitable gifting that honors the deceased person.
Review How The Inheritance Will Affect Your Taxes & More
It’s also critical to take the time to fully understand what types of assets you’ve inherited and any tax, risk and income implications those assets may have on your situation because yours is likely very different from the one who left you the assets.
Update Your Own Will & Estate Plan
Finally, one often-forgotten step is to update your estate plan. Receiving assets from someone else should be a stark reminder that we all have an expiration date, and it’s critical that your own plan is up-to-date and considers what you’ve just inherited.
Schedule A Free Consultation With A Hess CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional In Harrisonburg.
When you hire Hess, we work for you. If you want to learn more about what to do next if you’ve received an inheritance, schedule a free consultation today. Let us show you the way forward together.
