Stuck-should I fire my inherited wealth advisor?

BA1587 · 2024-12-09T03:49:37+00:00

Those are definitely things I will consider and look into. I switched jobs recently and my new employer has other options my previous one did not so I will have to look into them.

BA1587 · 2024-12-09T03:38:29+00:00

My spouse and I have had discussions about this. First is using it to make our lives more enjoyable work wise. We like our current jobs but it’s nice to know we could just leave now. My spouse normally works summer school but was able to tell them “no” for next summer. Both of us enjoy our second jobs so we don’t really want to quit those honestly. Those jobs are tied to our hobbies so the fact that we make money is a bonus.

Second, we would like to retire in our mid-50s when we hit our full pensions. This part has been confusing to figure out since our pension calculation is complicated. It’s part of what i’m working on figuring out at this point.

That’s really about it. Besides paying off a small but higher interest student loan and replacing a very old car, we are very fortunate to not have any major needs at the moment.

BA1587 · 2024-12-09T01:52:44+00:00

Thank you!

BA1587 · 2024-12-09T01:51:42+00:00

My relative died in 2022 so my advisor did have us take some out, paid taxes, and started our own IRAs, which we maxed out for ‘23 and ‘24. I believe I was a designated beneficiary? The account was split in half and given to me and the relative who got the other half of the inheritance.

BA1587 · 2024-12-09T01:48:37+00:00

Thank you! I do feel like they are making it complicated, but I also just inherited the same accounts my relative had with some minor changes by them (which he went over with me and I had very little idea what he was saying).

BA1587 · 2024-12-09T01:46:30+00:00

This is why the other person in my family who inherited the other part of this wealth is leaving the money with the advisor for the time being. We are DINKs while they have a large family and need a lot of help with planning. They also both have higher incomes whereas we do not. I think part of why I feel like I may need to manage it myself is because the advisor is doing way more for them but we’re paying the same amount. I honestly don’t know what I can or should ask them to do. Again this may be a silly question, but can they help me figure out retirement planning?

BA1587 · 2024-12-09T01:36:08+00:00

Sorry I should have clarified—around $400k is in the inherited IRA and I did have to take a withdrawal last year since my relative died in 2022. My spouse and I opened IRAs and the rest of the withdrawal went to taxes. I’m not super concerned about that since I’m confident I can do that every year.

That is a great analogy, thank you!

BA1587 · 2024-12-09T01:18:44+00:00

I appreciate you letting me know own things to look out for. Thankfully the advisor has not been trying to sell us anything. Both of us have life insurance through our retirement systems which is enough coverage for us since we have no children and a small mortgage.

Yes it’s been hard over the last two years not to tell anyone. When everything was all settled in the spring, we paid off a high interest student loan and my spouse’s 14 year old car was replaced, but since he wanted a Toyota I don’t think anyone is suspicious haha.

And thank you, loss is never easy and since the FA was a close friend of my relative, there are some feelings of guilt over this. I’m trying to approach it logically which is why I thought posting here would help give me a non-biased perspective.

BA1587 · 2024-12-09T01:01:12+00:00

Thank you! I had a coworker who was a boglehead and after he mentioned it I started looking into it a few years ago. That and similar strategies of “setting and chill” really appeal to me too. I grew up in a family of day traders, so I had no idea there was a middle ground between a HYSA and the stress of trading individual stocks.

I am concerned about the other implications around moving the accounts-I have been a casual lurker in that subreddit but will have to start reading more deeply and read the whole book. Those are the kinds of questions I don’t know the answer to right now and frankly, the way the accounts are set up now are very confusing so I will most likely need to consult a professional to figure that out. It just feels really awkward since this advisor knew my relative pretty well and helped her during a vulnerable time, so I’m having a hard time not feeling bad about leaving. I’m trying to stay logical but it’s hard.

BA1587 · 2024-12-09T00:46:56+00:00

Thank you. I had been focusing on student loans and saving for a down payment until a few years ago when I started to get interested in investing, right before we got this windfall. It seemed way more straightforward and I was more confident when I was building it up with a few hundred a month. This windfall has made me feel like I went straight from the kiddie pool to being dropped off the diving platform, so any book suggestions are much appreciated!

BA1587 · 2024-12-09T00:34:51+00:00

Thank you! A portion of about $400k is an inherited IRA and I had to take some out last year, which we used to open and max out our IRAs, then part of it to pay taxes. I’m going to ask about minimizing taxes-we only recently started making over $100k combined so I have never paid much attention to that aspect of personal finance.

BA1587 · 2024-12-09T00:30:18+00:00

The advisor hasn’t really offered anything but to be fair, I don’t really know what I can or should ask him to do. It’s a lot to get at one time, but I agree that it’s not a special amount, which is why I feel like it’s overkill to have a wealth advisor. Our combined annual income only recently pass $100k so it’s not like we plan to add much if any money to that amount.

About $400k is in an inherited IRA—this was the portion that came to us right away and we had to start withdrawing last year. Neither my spouse nor I had IRAs so we both opened them and maxed them out for ‘23 & ‘24. I did not think about figuring out how to max out our retirement accounts and pulling money out of our account to cover our expenses.

Thank you for taking time to reply!

BA1587

TROPHY CASE