Losing a loved one is not just emotionally overwhelming but also legally and financially stressful. When it comes to the financial stress of grief, you should never deal with it all by yourself. Otherwise, you might find yourself broken beyond repair. I sit down with Chris Bentley of Wings for Widows who discusses why you should seek professional help when making major decisions regarding your assets after losing a loved one. He also breaks down the most common mistakes widows – and even widowers – are making after their partner’s passing and what must be done to finally correct it. I am sharing my experience of loving the same man for 32 years, a mother to two adult children, a retired military officer, a breast cancer survivor, and my connections with others.   Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts should reach out to a suicide hotline or local emergency number in their country: Psychology Today Suicide Hotlines and Prevention Resources Around the World. — Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   Dealing With The Financial Stress Of Loss With Chris Bentley Widowhood is complicated. The financial challenges that are involved in this process are daunting. Oftentimes, we may not be familiar with the finances, but we need help. What happens when your spouse passes, and they had a credit card bill only in their name? Do you know what to do in that situation? What if the house was in their name and not yours? What if the car? What if you are trying to go back to work and you are looking for childcare? These questions can be answered in the conversation we are about to have with Chris from Wings for Widows. The information that he shared gives life. Tax return help, financial advisors, free help for the widowhood. I encourage you to share this episode with everyone that you know. Widowed or not widowed, the information that Chris is going to share is going to change your life. Let us get into this conversation.     Chris, welcome to the Widowhood. Thank you, Tina. I am so blessed to be here. The widowhood smile, what is the inside version in your head when you hear welcome to the widowhood? In the beginning used to think of Mr. Rogers, Welcome to the neighborhood. That little song goes off in my head, and welcome to the neighborhood. Widowhood is not a group you want to welcome anybody to. There is that side of the coin. If they are part of that club, that is why we are here. That is what we are here to do is to try to help them out. I am not a widower. I do not know what that experience is like, but I have a heart for widows and widowers. When I hear about widowhood, I immediately know that this is someone, regardless of where they are on their journey, who has suffered a lot of pain. Again, depending on where they are in their journey, they have struggled or have learned a tremendous amount about themselves and perhaps others. It is a transitional experience that I would not wish on anyone. Over a million people experience it every year. It is a reality. It is something we have to deal with. I am just glad I am on this side of the coin. I am able to help folks who are making that transition and are in that part of the club. I am also fortunate that I have not experienced it. When you talk about having a heart for the widowhood community, I do not know if that does it justice. Maybe in this question it will. What moment or realization led up to you hanging up your stocks and bonds for widows and widowers and the creation of Wings for Widows?     That moment of clarity was when I discovered there were no organizations that provided free services for widows and widowers to deal with the practical side of loss. There were lots of services paid or otherwise that were available around bereavement and grief. When I went to hunt for services for some folks that I had met, some widowed people that I had met, I thought for sure I would be able to come riding back on my white horse and share all of these resources for them. That did not happen. That was when the light bulb went on that if these resources do not exist, A, why not? B, they are so necessary just on the surface. Is there something I could do? That realization materialized in this thought that once I did a little bit of digging, there were so many who do not have a professional network. Where are they going for help with the practical matters of loss? Meaning budgets and healthcare, and claiming benefits, and changing titles of ownership, and all the things that have to be done after a loss that most people have to contend with on the spectrum of stuff to do after a household goes from 2 to 1, there is a lot of stuff to do. I realized that there is a very small segment of that population that actually has a professional network. They are going to be okay. As a financial professional, I was working with those people, but what about all the other people? Where were they going? We found out they were going to places that were not giving them the correct answers, and the best advice. That was the moment of clarity, when folks need help the most, it is not available. I wanted to do something about that. You are right, a heart for this mission or a heart for the plight of widows and widowers in this country, having a heart for it is a pretty good start, but it certainly takes a lot more than that. That a-ha moment for me as a spiritual person, as