Katerina Minevich

I know what it feels like to lose a spouse and realize, in the middle of grief, that you are also completely unprepared for what comes next financially.

I became a widow when my children were 10 and 7. I was not ready — not even close. The paperwork, the accounts, the decisions that couldn't wait. All of it arrived while I was still in shock, and the financial fog was as overwhelming as the grief itself. There was no roadmap and no one in my corner who truly understood both the emotional weight and the financial urgency of that moment. I made it through, but it was harder than it had to be.

What made the experience particularly humbling is that I had an education in finance and was working in corporate finance at the time. I was an expert in spreadsheets, forecasts, and capital strategy. If someone with my background could be that exposed, I understood exactly how devastating this moment must be for someone without it. This experience set me on a path toward a career in personal finance and to earning my CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) designation. I wanted to be the person I needed back then. Someone with real expertise who also understood, from the inside, what this journey actually feels like.

Now my kids have launched. And I'm here for you.

I'm a wealth manager and financial planning strategist with particular expertise in the financial transitions. I co-founded Forward Wealth Management and hold both the CFP® and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®) designations. Earlier in my career I worked at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and I helped lead a company through a $425 million acquisition. I understand complex financial terrain. But the credential that matters most to me in this work is the one no program grants: I have walked this road personally.

When we work together through Wings for Widows, we'll build a financial snapshot of where you stand right now: your accounts, your income, your obligations, and what needs your atte...