Author and educator Kathleen Rehl discusses widowhood, estate planning, and finding purpose in later life Our guest on the podcast today is Kathleen Rehl. Kathleen is an author, educator, speaker, and certified financial planner dedicated to empowering widows financially and guiding the professionals who support them. She operated her own planning firm for 18 years before shifting her focus to writing, teaching, and research. After her husband died, she transformed her personal grief into a mission, helping others navigate widowhood, legacy planning, and purposeful aging. She is the author of Moving Forward on Your Own: A Financial Guidebook for Widows. Episode Highlights 00:00:00 Welcome 00:02:17 Learning widowhood from the inside 00:04:13 What changes when only one person is left to make decisions 00:05:16 Irreversible choices widows often face early on 00:08:39 Stress-testing for life without a spouse: Where will you live, and how will you live? 00:16:03 Why widows leave advisors—and how advisors can do better 00:18:53 Slowing down decisions to prevent emotional and financial harm 00:25:55 Continuing care retirement communities as a housing and risk management choice 00:30:38 “Refirement” instead of retirement, and building a lasting legacy This episode is sponsored by Vanguard: https://advisors.vanguard.com/engagement/fixed-income