Hello, r/personalfinance. First time poster here, and I'd like to ask for some advice.
Over the last couple years, there have been a few deaths in my family, which led to me being the beneficiary of an inheritance valued at approximately $200,000. This is in the form of both an IRA(~$170k) and a Roth IRA(~$30k). The majority of it, probably about 70% is in Proctor & Gamble stocks. I'll be meeting with the Financial Advisor who had managed the accounts of the deceased prior to my inheriting next week, and I'm asking for advice on how to approach this.
I'm not sure how relevant my background is to this, but I'll lay out the details that may be relevant. I am currently 33 years old and I do not have a degree, but due to my most recent job outsourcing my position and laying me off, I was entitled to unemployment benefits, as well as funding for job training through the Trade Adjustment Act, which will fund an Associate's degree, and I will start this September. Prior to this, I've only ever worked entry level jobs(customer service and general labor), and never earned more than ~$30,000 a year, give or take a couple thousand. I've also inherited a small house that I am currently living in, which is in need of a significant amount of repairs(~$10,000, as a pessimistic estimate). I have a bit of debt; ~$3.5k credit card debt(through collections), ~$1.5k to a community college for classes, ~$2k property taxes, and about $1,000 in utilities.
While $200k may not be a lot to many people, it is potentially life-changing for me. I am reaching out to you all for advice on how I can make the most of this windfall. I would like to ask a few questions.
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My Financial Advisor works with Merrill Lynch, I won't know their qualifications until I meet with them, but are there any important questions I should ask them? Can I trust them to have my best interests in mind? Should I be wary that they may offer solutions based on the commissions they earn as opposed to what could earn me the most return on the new accounts I open with them?
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What are the advantages/disadvantages to paying off in full vs. payment plans for my debts? I'm not entirely sure whether my credit card debt, which has already gone to collections, is still charging interest.
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Should I roll these IRA and Roth IRA accounts into my own personal IRA's, or should I cash out and place the money elsewhere? Should I leave it as P&G stock or should I cash out and place the funds elsewhere?
I've never been the most responsible saver, and I've never felt that money was important. As ridiculous as it might sound, because of this, I feel as though I have the opportunity to honor the lifelong work of a hard-working individual who earned this wealth. I want to continue his legacy and leave something significant behind for our future generations. Can I get that started with $200,000?
EDIT: I feel I need to clarify that the fact that ~70% of it is in a single company's stock is because my family member was granted Stock Options for the company he worked for, not because of any financial advice.
Submitted June 14, 2019 at 08:27PM by LosingPatients http://bit.ly/2KS0SGa
