Financial Advisor?

[SEsterly13]

Can anyone give me advice on finding a financial adviser? Long story short: My aunt died unexpectedly about 10 months ago. She had no official will. She left some debt (mostly a house that is only half paid off), but she also left bonds and CDs and all kinds of other things I won't even pretend I completely understand. My parents are interested in talking to a financial adviser for various reasons. The quote they got from one was $500. That seems crazy to me. Then again, I don't know anything about this, so maybe that's a good price? :shrug7: Does anyone know if banks or lenders do any free or cheaper advising? My mother figured their bank would offer it, but the bank said they don't do advising because it might be considered a conflict of interest. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreicated by SEVERAL people!

[mama22qts]

You need to check with another bank. My husband is a registered advisor, licensed in several states. He works for himself, but he's affiliated with a local bank. You also might want to ask folks around you about advisors -- in that business, word of mouth is gold!

Where are you located?

[mama22qts]

The fee thing is strange to me -- we don't do it that way. We charge based on the returns we get for the customer.

[mama22qts]

Most financial advisors will not charge a fee to consult with you. Most planning firms do charge a fee, according to my husband. Look for an ADVISOR, not a planner. Sounds like the same thing, but it's not.

[SEsterly13]

Thanks for the advice. I'm in Maryland.

[mama22qts]

My dh gets paid based on the transactions and returns he gets for his clients. He manages his customers' money and puts them in specific products. A financial planner, by contrast, will tell you that you need X amount of life insurance, Y amount of savings, Z in the market, etc etc. They normally will not recommend specific funds or products. There are some planners though that do manage money -- so you could be charged by them for both their time (per hour) and per transaction.

You really need ask a lot of questions about how and what they charge, and if it were me, I'd ask for the names of other customers that they manage so I could interview them myself.

[cupunlvr]

I went through a similar situation about 10 years ago with my aunt passing away with no will and I was next of kin. I was able to consult an attorney through a low cost legal aid service in our community who gave me advice and resources for a very minimal fee--I think it was $15, don't remember exactly. Maybe there might be something like this in your area.

[willow78]

Your aunt died 10 months ago and nothing has been done with her estate?

I would do a little reading online at the state website first. Here's a link to check out:
Administration of Estates in Montgomery County, Maryland

They might need an estate attorney to deal with this, versus a financial advisor or planner.

[SEsterly13]

Yes, she died last September. A lawyer was appointed (a $350/hour lawyer, I might add!). He has slowly worked through her estate. It's been slow going with no official will, no husband, no children, and her next of kin (my father) not being the appointed estate representative. (That's a whole other story!) The estate is basically settled, except that the IRS apparently owes HER money, and that hasn't been dealt with yet. My parents need advice on holding the mortgage to my aunt's house vs selling it to me and my husband vs...well, I don't really even know anymore!

Again, I appreciate anything anyone has to say and/or can still tell me!

[Mothernature]

Honestly, find an attorney/cpa. Nothing against mama but most FP's are full of it. You want an attorney with a CPA because they can provide the best of both worlds.

There are deeper legal issues here that a CFP can not handle. If you can find a JD, CPA, with a PTIN, all the better.

HTH