I guess the FA would have kept me on a even keel & helped me to not get swept up & make mistakes during Market gyrations last year.
.......So yes another pair of eyes would have directed me to the IRA to make trades in & to keep emotions in control during market gyrations.
Exactly. Sometimes our brains are too busy and we end up outsmarting ourselves.
It's well-established by many studies that people remember best the bad things that have happened to them, but tend to forget the many mistakes they themselves have made - instead, focusing on their own positive achievements.
If you (the financially savvy partner) dies, it is more than just a spouse needing to pick up the reins.
Their situation has changed. The will or trust needs to be changed. The financial decisions are different: keep the house, or move somewhere more manageable/better weather/closer to family? The tax circumstances have changed, from primary residence cap gains profit limits to inherited IRAs and the original cost basis of assets (especially since Congress can and does change tax laws - do you really want to depend on someone else to let your spouse know?).
Health changes may have occurred over the years with spouse. Life expectancy may have changed, as well. Neither a lawyer nor CPA should be advising on what might be the best current senior living alternative for spouse. And asset investing/withdrawals in retirement may require a different approach than during the working years.
I get tired of repeating this, but one doesn't use a CFP to get the biggest/highest/most spectacular financial returns. You can do that yourself - just don't expect anyone else to duplicate that (unless you're really lucky to have an interested family member!). One uses a CFP to work on a holistic approach to retirement, estate planning, and eldercare*.
*
I've posted on other threads about eldercare discussions with our CFP.
I learned how to do retirement planning from employer seminars, and did well enough that two different independent CFPs congratulated us on our long-term strategies. Our CFP has done an outstanding job of making sure our portfolio withdrawals have the lowest possible tax cost. There is no 'churning' of accounts, nor excess costs over fund NAVs.
We just finished setting up a Donor Advisory Fund for 2021, on their advice. This came from our last general discussion about giving to charity. That, plus another couple of changes I'm making which they approved of, should pay a positive dividend in 2022 for this taxable year.
I enjoy finance. I understand investments. I track business and financial trends.
But my spouse isn't interested in any of it. Nor is anyone else in my family, or his.
I use a CFP, even though we are not in the 8-figure bracket, because their advice can be even more useful for middle-class and upper middle-class folks. But middle-class couples seldom have the minimum level of investible assets, while many upper middle-class folks are too busy, and keep "putting it off till next week/next month/'things stop being crazy' " - the usual mantra.