<prompt> Human: I lost my husband of 33 years very unexpectedly in February. He was a finance guy and acted as our CPA, tax guy, financial planner, investor, etc. Were a middle class couple with one grown son. Ive closed out all the estate paperwork, etc. The good news is I own my home, have no debt and a good amount of savings and retirement accounts. Im receiving Social Security and a small federal pension as his beneficiary. I also am continuing to run my small, home-based business which provides ongoing income. The bad news is Im feeling completely heartbroken and overwhelmed at trying to manage our financial affairs. My husband and I both grew up poor and as a result probably are very financially conservative careful. He had our assets spread out over 26 different accounts in various different banks and brokerage firms, with the bulk of it in just cash accounts. Im finding it overwhelming to try to figure out how to proceed. I got the help of a CPA to file taxes this year and have spoken with a financial advisor she recommended. Hes with Wells Fargo Advisors. I like him and overall have found his advice conservative and sensible. He says Im in excellent shape and can invest conservatively in laddered CDs but the piechart he generated seems to show a good amount of other asset classes as well. He wanted me to come in today to set up a brokerage account and another account with WF. Something is telling me to slow down and educate myself to make sure I understand the best way to proceed. I emailed him this morning with these questions. Would you be acting just as my financial advisor or as my investment manager? If you are suggesting acting as my investment manager, how would that work and what costs would I incur? You said you get paid by the .04 difference between Wells Fargos wholesale price for CDs and the retail price customers pay. Is that the only cost or are there additional fees? If you were to be both my financial advisor and investment manager, what are the advantages and disadvantages? You spoke of setting up new Wells Fargo accounts, a brokerage account and one other. Why do I need these and how would they work? Can you just work as a financial advisor for a fee with my being free to invest elsewhere? If so, what are the advantages and disadvantages of doing so? What degree of control do I have over my money using your services compared to how my late husband and I have had in the past?Any advice from others who have BTDT or from financial professionals would be very, very much appreciated.  <response>: Dont go with WF - he is not a fiduciary, and will sell you products with commissions. He is a broker.First, financial advisor is a weasel term. It is not a credential. Anyone can call themselves a financial adviser or advisor, just as I can call myself an opera singer. In the US, a FA may be a Registered Investment Advisor registered with the SEC or state agency, a broker, an attorney, a tax person EA, CPA or preparer, or a financial planner see financial advisor!. This is all pretty irrelevant. The key questions are,How are you compensated? and,Are you a fiduciary?Financial services people can be compensated by the hour, by commission, by the amount of money they manage for you, or a combination of ways. Ask them!Brokers are salespeople who earn commissions on trades and on products sold which have loads commissions and expense ratios continuing annual fees. For most people, this is a very expensive way to invest, and not at all useful.Other ways that financial professionals can be compensated; they can take a percentage of your portfolio annually, usually 1 of assets under management. Such advisors wont usually be interested in portfolios under 500,000, in which case you are paying someone 5,000 annually.Or, you can pay someone by the hour usually 200 or above, similar to how attorneys are compensated. For 5,000 you could pay for 25 hours of adviser time, far above what most people need annually! And, this person, who sells no products, can be a true fiduciary. A fiduciary is someone who has a legal and ethical obligation to put your needs ahead of hishers. Brokers have a much lower standard of care; they are not supposed to sell you inappropriate products, such as deferred variable annuities to 80 year old clients. Difficult to prove!A CFPR, who is a fiduciary, can help you which many types of lifetime financial decisions. These include; budgeting and credit issues; planning for large expenditures such as children and houses; retirement, tax and estate planning; divorce planning; career development; education funding; fraud prevention; planning for incapacity; dealing with aging family members or disabled family members; decumulation tactics in retirement; Social Security strategies; and charitable giving. And, of course, the person will review your portfolio and suggest tweaks.A financial planner is a generalist, and will be able to refer you to other needed professionals such as tax advisors and estate attorneys. 