What would you do if grief forced you to see exactly how little time you might have left?

Ret Taylor joins host Justin Weidenfeld to talk through his mother’s death, the last wishes he never got to ask about, and how that experience led him to take severance seriously as both a vision quest phase and a turning point in how he meets loss, legacy, and money. He shares how walking his mom’s laps under a harvest moon became a quiet practice of healing through nature, how her cancer journey shaped his work with Natural Remedies, and why he eventually shifted from selling products to guiding people in the wilderness. Through stories about vision quests, nights spent saying goodnight to the moon, and hard questions about how many years might remain, Ret invites listeners to uncover the buried treasures in their own lives and to start talking about what they want long before anyone loses their voice.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Why Talk About Death And Money On Currency Of Grief

02:08 Meet Ret Taylor And His Work With Vision Quests

05:40 Wynn’s Cancer Journey And The Stroke That Changed Everything

14:36 Regretting Unspoken Last Wishes And Why Early Conversations Matter

21:56 Harvest Moon Grief Rituals And Healing Through Nature

37:03 Presence Twenty One Years Left And Permission To Stop Playing Small

45:02 Vision Quests Severance And Finding Buried Treasures In Nature

54:03 Using The Moon And The Natural World To Stay Connected After Loss

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Family financial secrets collide with grief in a story that exposes how losing a parent can unravel your sense of safety and force you to rebuild your future from the ground up.

Ariana Cohen joins Justin Weidenfeld to talk about the shock of financial betrayal and the moment she learned her dad had erased their savings while facing a terminal diagnosis. She explains how that discovery created lasting financial trauma, reshaped her plans, and forced her to take on adult responsibilities long before she felt ready. Ari reflects on the pressure of being the oldest child, the guilt that comes with losing everything you counted on, and the complicated blend of love and anger that follows when a parent’s choices leave deep financial and emotional fallout.

The conversation also explores how silence around money and hidden struggles can alter an entire family’s future. Ari shares how therapy, honest communication, and time with her mom and brother helped her rebuild stability and begin shaping a healthier family legacy. Her story shows the emotional resilience and the clarity that comes from trusting your instincts when something feels off.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Introduction to Grief and Money

02:11 Ariana’s Family Story and Financial Struggles

08:43 The Impact of Financial Secrets on Family Dynamics

12:01 Childhood and Parental Roles

19:36 Grieving the Loss of a Parent and Financial Security

24:47 Understanding Financial Decisions and Mental Health

30:29 Navigating Life After Loss and Supporting Family

34:55 Navigating Grief and Family Dynamics

41:33 Transitioning into Adulthood After Loss

49:43 Lessons on Financial Planning and Legacy

56:01 Trusting Your Gut and Having Difficult Conversations

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When family secrets, sudden wealth, and loss collide, the truth about inheritance and the myths surrounding it hit closer to home than most people realize.

Justin Weidenfeld talks with Paul Deloughery, the founder of Sudden Wealth Protection, whose story challenges what we think we know about money, grief, and family. After meeting his biological father for the first time just weeks before his death, Paul inherited a fortune, and with it, a flood of emotions he never expected. What happens when money arrives before you’ve had time to heal? Can estate plans really prevent conflict, or do unspoken feelings find their way to the surface no matter how many documents are signed?

Through his experience, Paul shows that inheritance can reveal more about identity and relationships than about wealth itself. He also reminds us that meaning comes from connection and clarity, not numbers on a statement. This conversation invites listeners to rethink what legacy truly means and why emotional preparation might be the most valuable inheritance of all.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Introduction to Grief and Money

02:25 Paul’s Journey of Discovery

05:11 Navigating Family Secrets and Inheritance

16:54 The Impact of Loss on Relationships

22:49 Financial Decisions After Loss

26:04 Navigating Grief and Sudden Wealth

33:11 The Emotional Impact of Inheritance

39:31 Legacy vs. Money: Finding Meaning

45:07 Understanding Estate Taxes

48:29 Building a Legacy Through Communication

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When grief and money collide, inheritance can stir up more than financial questions. It can surface old emotions, family patterns, and the deeper stories we carry about what wealth means.

Justin Weidenfeld sits down with Wendy Wright, a financial therapist and wealth transfer communication specialist, to talk about why so many people experience inheritance as a burden and what it takes to shift that experience into something meaningful. What happens when we slow down long enough to understand our personal money story? How does clearer family communication change the way wealth is passed on?

Wendy shares how every wealth transfer tells two stories: the one written in numbers and the one written in values, beliefs, and love. Through open, intentional conversations, she shows how families can replace secrecy and stress with honesty and connection. This episode invites you to rethink inheritance as an act of emotional clarity, one that can strengthen relationships, honor legacy, and create genuine peace of mind.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Money And Loss: Why Grief Shapes Financial Choices

02:20 Meet Wendy Wright: Financial Therapy And Wealth Transfer

07:36 How Grief Drives Money Decisions And Behavior

15:18 Why Pausing Major Decisions After Loss Matters

22:15 Expected vs Unexpected Inheritance And Family Communication

24:39 Who Owns This Money And What Story Should It Tell

32:45 The Hidden Burden Of Inheriting A House

38:06 How Families Talk About Money With Intention And Money Story

57:52 Estate Plan vs Inheritance Plan: Key Differences

01:04:07 Practical Advice For New Inheritors After A Parent’s Death

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When Sarah Kagan became a mother while losing her own, she stepped into a season defined by both beginnings and endings. Joining Justin Weidenfeld in this episode, she shares the small moments that still echo—crocheting beside her mom until treatment made it impossible, finishing a baby blanket alone, and moving between hospice updates and work calls. Which matters more in the end, the big milestones or the ordinary time we barely notice while we have it?

Back at work, her grief was met with silence. Five days off, then business as usual. She wonders how different it could feel if HR handled logistics for the bereaved, or if re-entry mirrored onboarding with gradual steps back into responsibility. What if managers offered camera-off norms, lighter schedules, or real human check-ins? Sarah argues that grief doesn’t disappear when leave ends, it just shifts into the workplace.

That realization pushed her to create Keriah Grief Coaching, named after a ritual that means both tearing and opening. She now works with women who feel unrecognizable after loss, helping them stop circling around grief and take the next step into a life reshaped by it. Legacy shows up in handmade keepsakes for her kids and donations to pancreatic cancer research, but also in the reminder she offers clients and companies alike: grief isn’t a weakness to cover up—it’s a fact of being alive.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Introduction to The Currency of Grief Podcast

02:13 Sarah Kagan’s Path Into Grief Coaching

05:24 Caregiving for a Parent With Pancreatic Cancer

13:39 Anticipatory Grief During Pregnancy

23:41 Grieving While Pregnant

35:33 The Turning Point: Quitting a Job After Loss

41:23 How HR Can Support Bereaved Employees

50:10 Immediate Steps After Death: Funeral Planning and Shiva

58:26 The Firsts Without Mom

01:05:54 Keriah Grief Coaching: Mission and Services

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At 24 years old, Olivia Lane lost her mom and was immediately faced with grief and inheritance in equal measure. What set her experience apart was her mother’s detailed planning—an Excel spreadsheet for her memorial service, clearly titled accounts, even a deed transfer designed to make things easier. Those choices lifted some of the logistical burden, but they couldn’t lessen the weight of living minute by minute through the loss.

In this episode, Olivia joins Justin Weidenfeld to share how her mom’s foresight shaped the way she handled beneficiary IRAs, a surprise pension, and a family home—and how it changed her own relationship with money. She speaks candidly about the guilt, responsibility, and unexpected stability that come with inheriting at a young age, and why she now pushes her family to put plans in writing before it’s too late.

Her story raises questions for all of us: What does inheritance mean beyond money? How can careful, detailed planning protect loved ones in the hardest moments? And how do we keep living minute by minute while carrying someone else’s legacy forward?

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Losing a Parent at 24: Olivia’s Story

05:03 Hospice Care and Final Days with Her Mom

17:02 Coping Mechanisms and Processing Grief

31:00 Estate Planning and Memorial Service Details

34:40 Inheritance Planning: Beneficiary Accounts Explained

41:12 The Surprise Pension and What It Means for Young Adults

45:25 Renting the Family Home and Small-Town Agreements

50:04 How Grief Reshaped Olivia’s Relationship with Money

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Margaret Gewirtzman opens up about what it was like to carry the weight of her father’s estate after his death, stepping into the role of executor with little preparation and even less support.

Joining Justin Weidenfeld in this episode, she describes how legal battles, family conflict, and unanswered questions turned what should have been a legacy into a burden that stretched across a decade of her life. At the same time, she was raising her own children and navigating her grief, which pushed her to find resilience she didn’t know she had. Her story raises questions that many of us avoid: How do we prepare our families for the realities of death and money? What happens when silence and denial leave the next generation to untangle the mess? And how can we shift the idea of legacy from simply passing down assets to creating real clarity and care for those left behind? Justin and Margaret’s conversation offers an invitation to think differently about planning, grief, and the impact we leave on those we love.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Confronting Death and Money

02:44 Probate Reality Check: A Cautionary Tale

06:49 Named Executor Without a Playbook

20:44 Isolation in Grief: Holding Space vs Orders

31:57 First 72 Hours After a Parent’s Death: What To Do

52:34 The Hidden Costs of Death and Why You Need a Lawyer

01:00:10 Planning for Legacy: Trusts, Life Insurance, and Protecting Your Kids

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What does it feel like to lose a parent when you’re 12 years old? How does a grieving teen begin to understand guardianship, money, and the weight of adult responsibilities before high school even starts?

Justin Weidenfeld is joined by his younger brother Jake Weidenfeld to talk about growing up in the shadow of loss and what he’s learned since. Jake shares the reality of being a grieving teen, trying to fit in at school, shutting down emotions, and later discovering that coping can take many different shapes. He also opens up about volunteering at Experience Camps and creating Grief Lift, a nonprofit built to give students the peer-to-peer support he once needed but didn’t have.

Their conversation doesn’t stop at emotions. Jake explains what it was like to have his inheritance tied up in a court-ordered guardianship and what he’s learning now as he pays his own way through college. His story raises bigger questions too: How do we prepare young people for financial independence? What role should family, community, and open conversations play in that process?

This episode reflects on how grief can change the pace of growing up and the responsibilities that come with it. Jake’s perspective is a reminder that even in loss there can be growth, connection, and purpose. He shows how young people can take experiences that feel overwhelming and slowly shape them into something that strengthens not only themselves but also the people around them.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Introduction to The Currency of Grief

03:59 Jake’s Perspective as a Grieving Teen

07:18 The Day Jake Learned His Dad Died

11:47 Coping With Grief in Middle School

20:01 Creating Grief Lift for Students

27:34 Finding Support Beyond Therapy

32:39 Coping Strategies and WWDD Golf Tournament

48:34 Navigating Guardianship After Loss

55:12 Learning About Money at 18

01:09:31 The College Application Process While Grieving

01:22:45 Taking Responsibility for College Tuition

01:28:45 Experience Camps and the Power of Community

01:34:15 Jake’s Words of Wisdom for Grieving Kids

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Crafting the Perfect Pitch: The Art of Storytelling in Social Entrepreneurship

Grief Lift

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Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm