When a big inheritance lands in your lap, your instincts may tell you to start making "smart" moves—buy the house, hire the advisor, set up the portfolio. But Suze Orman has one word for you: don't.
On an April episode of her "Women & Money" podcast, Orman gave a sobering but powerful message to anyone facing the emotional chaos that often comes with a sudden windfall. The episode focused on a 57-year-old woman who had just lost her husband and was trying to figure out what to do with a $7 million life insurance payout.
"She was left to the tune of $7 million," Orman said. "Now this woman has never dealt with $7 million in her life."
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And Orman's advice?
"You are to do nothing other than keep this money safe and sound," she said. "Except obviously pay off debts and things like that, but nothing besides that. For at least six months, one year or two years after suffering the loss of a loved one."
Orman's reasoning is deeply rooted in psychology—and experience.
"You may feel like you are making the right decisions and that you know what you're doing when it comes to money that you've never handled before, but I'm here to tell you," she said. "You are not in your body. You will get taken advantage of possibly, but you will not be doing that which you should be doing with this money."
The woman, a mother of four—ages 21, 18, 16, and 12—was three months into grieving her husband when she initially reached out to Orman. At that time, Orman carefully guided her to place the full $7 million into a treasury money market account through a reputable brokerage firm, where she'd earn around 4%–5% interest with minimal risk. The instructions were crystal clear:
"You are to do nothing. Do not touch this money. You are just going to let it sit there," she said.
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But that didn't last.
Months later, a financial advisor from that very brokerage firm contacted her and convinced her to split up $2.4 million into two annuities—$1.5 million in one, $900,000 in another—and planned to invest the rest in stocks and bonds, leaving only $1.5 million in the money market account.
Orman was livid.
"Nothing upsets me more than that," she said, referring to advisors who act in their own financial interest before a grieving client is emotionally ready. "We all deserve to know what to do with money, to be taken care of, to not have some financial adviser do things with people's money when they're not ready to do it just 'cause this person may make more money or his firm may make more money."
So what should you do if you suddenly come into a large sum of money, whether from an inheritance, lottery win, or sale of a business?
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According to Orman: slow down. Park the money somewhere safe, like a treasury-backed money market account. Let the dust settle before you make life-altering decisions—especially ones driven by outside "experts" with a commission in the balance.
Financial planners often say one of the worst times to make big decisions is after a major emotional event. Behavioral economists call it "decision fatigue." Grief only amplifies it.
That said, there's a valid counterpoint: waiting too long to make any moves can expose your money to inflation risk, market shifts, or—ironically—bad advice from friends and family. The key is balance. Take Orman's advice as a mandate to protect your money until you're mentally ready, not a reason to ignore it completely.
Because $7 million is a lot. But peace of mind? That's priceless.
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