<prompt> Human: My parents both in their late sixties are divorcing because of my fathers infidelities. My dad has always been frugal and wise with money -- not so much with marriage, but thats another story -- but my mom has basically no knowledge of investing because of her job as a homemaker rather than a breadwinner. Their total assets of about 2.2 million will be split equally, with some of that tied up in real estate that will be split up so as to avoid sale of any of the properties. My mom will get a couple of paid for homes, one that she will live in and the other that she will rent. She will get about 600k in a 401k account that is with Fidelity. Should my mom roll over the 401k into a traditional IRA with Fidelity? What funds should she choose? I told her to avoid money market funds as they dont earn much of a return and Ive advised her that she should stick to a 4 withdrawal rate per annum, with quarterly withdrawals being recommended over monthly -- as long as she budgets appropriately for this. She is open to even annual withdrawals if that is prudent. Is this wise? Also, mom wants to eventually sell one of the homes worth about 350k and live in the one that is currently rented out. This would happen probably a year from now at the earliest. What should she do with the money from the sale of the house, provided she wants to use that money to supplement her lifestyle in retirement and make it last for the long term. She currently has Social Security as income not sure exactly how much... sorry and the income from the rented property that is only 700 per month. No debts at all.Assistant: This is a major job for a certified financial planner lawyer combination, and your mom should be hiring one as part of the divorce proceedings.Human: Ok I did some more research and found that the best route to take is to roll the 401k, after a QDRO is completed, into a traditional IRA. Im not going to let some financial planner scam my mom out of thousands just to do a simple thing such as a transfer assets into an IRA. Well call Fidelity and have it done over the phone in ten minutes. The properties will be split in court, with my mom and dad already agreeing as to how they want to split them. You need to work on reading comprehension because you failed to answer any of my questions and instead shilled for a CFP. Are you a CFP?Assistant: Nope, but you should take professional advice versus what you read on the internet. Good luck, and I hope your mom doesnt get sued or lose all her money.Human: Slow your roll, hoss. Im going to do my due diligence. But I wanted to see if this sub would introduce an idea or occurrence I hadnt anticipated. I hope my mom doesnt get sued or lose all her money? What kind of statement is that? Thats not in the cards and has basically a 0.002 chance of occurring... Why do you think that would happen? Not sure if you are a CFP, but you seem like you are pushing business their way.  <response>: Dude, youre on a sub that 95 of the time tells people they dont need a financial planner so the fact that based on the upvotes its clear that your mom is one of the 5 that we think does, perhaps you should listen and stop being a jerk to people who are honestly keeping your mothers best interests at heart. While there are plenty of scummy financial planners out there, a fee-only CFP that you can find listings of at will sit down with your mom, ask the right questions, take into account things like social security and other legal and tax issues, and make recommendations. Theyll charge and hourly rate and dont have to manage her investments. You can easily find someone who will happily make recommendations for funds at Fidelity, Vanguard, or wherever she chooses to invest. Im sure if your moms okay with it, you can even attend their meetings and vet their advice, then help her implement it yourself.Given shes not employed, and now divorced, theres not a lot of room for error here. And between her age, the property, and the tax structures around her holdings, there are more things to consider that we here can advise on or youre going to be able to learn on your own in any reasonable amount of time. Yes, you shouldnt just pick a financial planner out of the yellow pages or by walking into an Edward Jones office. But a well-chosen CFP will be more than worth their fee to your mothers financial security. 