In death, the widow is often picking up the pieces and uncovering what has been left behind because they were likely left in the dark.
FA: Have you ever found it necessary to refer a client of financial abuse for professional therapy?
CH: Absolutely. In any case of abuse, I always recommend that the client have a solid team behind them, including a therapist.
FA: As a financial advisor, how do you establish trust in a professional relationship with clients that are financially unequal partners due to financial abuse?
CH: Often in our practices, we find a large knowledge or power imbalance between two partners. It is always important to have both parties informed and part of the dialog from the beginning.
FA: How can a financial advisor establish a professional relationship that addresses the financial needs of both a husband and a wife?
CH: If if you focus on both parties from the start, you will have had a relationship with the couple, not just the one spouse. However, most advisors have a stronger relationship with one party, which can end up hurting their practice in the end. Over 70 percent of widows change financial advisors within one year after the death of their spouse, and statistically women outlive men.
As an advisor, if you do not take the time to insist on meeting with both parties from time to time, or find a way to get to know them as a couple, you may end up losing a large portion of your widowed clientele in the end.
For further information, Hennigan recommends visiting the following website: https://nnedv.org/content/about-financial-abuse/.