Losing your partner or spouse is always an emotionally difficult time. One thing that you probably haven’t even thought about is the financial aspect. When you’re dealing with that grief, you don’t even have time to stop and think about that. But you can find yourself in some serious financial trouble after the death of a partner, especially if it’s a sudden loss. It might not be a priority for you but the whole situation will be a lot worse if you don’t get your finances in order quickly. These are the things that you should do in the days and weeks following the loss of a partner or spouse.

Claim Compensation

If that person dies in an accident and it isn’t their fault, you may be entitled to some compensation. Getting into a legal battle is the last thing you want at that moment in time but a lump sum of money can really help you take the pressure off financially. If you think that you might be entitled to something, get in touch with an accidental death attorney and get their advice. The sooner you set the wheels in motion, the sooner you’ll get a payout which can really help you to survive financially.

Check Insurance Policies

Insurance companies are always helpful when it comes to setting up a policy and paying them money, but the process becomes a lot harder when it comes time to claim some money back. If your partner had a life insurance policy, that money can be an absolute godsend. But it may take you a while to get hold of it. You need to get in touch with them right away and get things moving so you can get that money as soon as possible. It’ll be a valuable buffer while you sort out some more long term solutions.

Budget For A Single Income

When you lose a partner, you also lose their income if you were both working. All of your bills are still going to be the same so you need to work out how you’re going to cover everything with one income. The first thing to do is get in touch with their bank and get any money that was left to you in the will. Then add up everything you’ve got and look at all of your expenses. By doing that, you’ll be able to see exactly where you stand. The likelihood is, you’ll be bringing in a lot less than you’ve got going out so you need to start writing a new budget. Get rid of anything that isn’t essential, otherwise, you’ll end up borrowing money to cover all of your living costs and that will only land you in a bad financial situation.

Consider Working More

Now that you’re trying to budget for a single income, you’ll probably find that you’ve got a big shortfall, even if you’ve made cutbacks. Unfortunately, you might have to consider working more hours when you return to work. Speak with your employer and see whether they have more hours for you, if not you’ll have to start looking for another job.

Dealing with all of this stuff doesn’t seem that important when you’ve just lost your life partner but you need to start thinking about it sooner rather than later.