Kathleen Rehl: Helping Widows and the Advisors Who Serve Them

Our guest on the podcast today is Kathleen Rehl. Kathleen is an author, educator, speaker, and certified financial planner dedicated to empowering widows financially and guiding the professionals who support them. She operated her own planning firm for 18 years before shifting her focus to writing, teaching, and research. After her husband died, she transformed her personal grief into a mission, helping others navigate widowhood, legacy planning, and purposeful aging. She is the author of Moving Forward on Your Own: A Financial Guidebook for Widows. Episode Highlights Learning widowhood from the inside (00:02:17) What changes when only one person is left to make decisions (00:04:13) Irreversible choices widows often face early on (00:05:16) Stress-testing for life without a spouse: Where will you live, and how will you live? (00:08:39) Why widows leave advisors—and how advisors can do better (00:16:03) Slowing down decisions to prevent emotional and financial harm (00:18:53) Continuing care retirement communities as a housing and risk management choice (00:25:55) “Refirement” instead of retirement, and building a lasting legacy (00:30:38) More From Morningstar Harry Margolis: How to Confront Aging Challenges Head-On How to Tackle Estate Planning Basics in 7 Steps 3 Tricky Decisions for Every Retirement Plan If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com. Follow Christine Benz (@christine_benz) and Ben Johnson (@MstarBenJohnson) on X, and Christine Benz, Amy Arnott, and Ben Johnson on LinkedIn. Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine, Ben, and Amy. Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances. If you want more Morningstar podcasts, check out The Morning Filter and Investing Insights.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.