You may not realize it but 1.4 million women become widows each year. For most, it’s likely the most tumultuous and devastating occurrence in their lives. And for many older women, it’s also the first time in their lives that they truly need to grapple with the family finances. In fact, statistics are that half of widows see their incomes drop by 50%. Not only are they grieving but they may face real financial challenges for the rest of their lives.

Some of the challenge comes from simply never having had to handle financial affairs while their spouse was alive. Over at the blog Satisfying Retirement, blogger Bob Lowry has put together a simple list of items that the “financial person” in the marriage should discuss with his or her spouse, in case of emergency or death. And in a recent article for Wealthsimple, writer Andrew Goldman tells the story of Mary Feinberg, whose husband of 47 years, Paul, “earned the money…and did all the investing.” When Paul passed away, Mary was left with significant challenges, despite having plenty of resources from Paul’s investment success. In particular, Mary grappled with figuring out “passcodes” and pushing off the real grieving while she was swamped with the affairs of closing down his office and taking over the finances. You can read about Mary’s story here and you can listen to Mary discuss her situation, in conversation with writer Andrew Goldman and financial planner Tom Frederickson, here.