Stepmother Help: Where Is the Money Going in Your Stepfamily?

Stepmothers: Do You Have a Financial Plan?

I don’t think you can ever talk too much about money and how it is being managed within our stepfamilies.  Money may be an issue of great divide or great avoidance.  But, we have to face it.  One of my greatest fears in taking on a stepmother role was, “What’s going to happen to me?”  Seriously.  What is going to happen to me in my old age?  Who will take care of me?  Will the stepchildren leave me on the streets?  (This is the sister fear to, “I’m going to be a bag lady.”)

This was a great show with two financial experts, Emily Bouchard of Blended-Families.com and Paul Hood of PaulHoodServices.com.  Emily Bouchard and her partner L. Paul Hood, c0- authored Estate Planning for Blended Families, a must-needed resource for all stepfamilies.  I just don’t think you can spend too much time talking about money management, estate planning and financial decisions.  Our needs are unique.

Emily is the founder of Blended-Families.com, LLC, where expert coaches make a positive difference in the lives of stepfamilies. She has been featured on The Today Show and NPR, is the author of several e-books, and speaks internationally on issues relating to blended families. Emily is also the Managing Partner of Wealth Legacy Group (WLG), a team of coaches who specialize in the emotional impact of money and wealth on individuals, couples, and families.

Paul Hood is Emily’s co-author and an expert in his own right.  He is is a frequent speaker and commentator on estate planning issues. He is widely quoted and his articles have been published in a number of journals, including CCH Journal of Practical Estate Planning, Estate Planning, Digest of Federal Tax Articles, Louisiana Bar Journal, and Tax Ideas. In addition to serving on the Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals, he was a sponsored speaker for distinguished law schools such as Duke, Georgetown, NYU, LSU, Tulane, and Loyola.

Joint us as we continue our discussions around money and the Stepfamily.  Hopefully, I asked a lot of the questions and expressed the same fears that you may have.