Many of our readers shared that when they inherited assets from a loved one they were paralysed by grief and afraid to make any decisions about what to do with the money.

 

It can be overwhelming to suddenly inherit a great deal of money. Emotions of guilt, fear and being overwhelmed are only natural. Many women feel their parent or partner worked so hard for this money and they feel that they’re letting them down by not knowing what to do with it. They fear losing it but also feel that they have a responsibility to invest it wisely.

 

All of these are totally normal feelings. In order to start making firm decisions at this time, requires us to go into a mental place and when we’re in a very deep, traumatic emotional place this is almost impossible. Don’t  put yourself  under pressure or bow to pressure from friends, family or the bank manager to make a rash decision that you may regret later.

 

In our experience, the support that most women need at this time is to be allowed to have the time and space to grieve and be with their emotions. It’s totally ok to put the money into a high interest account and let it sit there for several months until you feel ready to deal with it. Give yourself permission to have this space and time...nothing bad will happen. The worst case scenario is that you’ll make less return on that money than you could have done! In the grand scheme of things does this really matter?

 

When your grief is less raw, come back to it - the money will still be there and your emotions will feel less like an open wound. It will be easier to make rational and informed decisions.

 

If you then decide to take some independent financial advice on what to do with this money, don’t be embarrassed to let the tears flow when you’re talking about your loved one and the money you’re now dealing with. If the advisor you are with cannot comfortably be with you in this emotional place then we suggest you find one who can! Money is simply energy and the energy linked to inherited money is often grief, loss and sadness – to pretend otherwise doesn’t serve anybody.

 

 We feel for all of you in this situation at the moment.

 

For further help on this, watch Yvonne’s video below. She answers questions on many of these issues and gives some practical, easy to understand  information about investing a lump sum.

 

 

Once you’re ready to move forward and make some decisions on what to do with your inheritance you may want to watch these videos of savings and investment, and download our free ebooks on savings and investments. Either the Beginners  or the intermediate  Investment one.