GAHW Panel Focuses on Estate and Financial Planning for Women

An Estate and Financial Planning for Women panel discussion hosted by St. John’s University’s Office of Gift Planning was held on Saturday, June 2, during the Grand Alumni Homecoming Weekend on the Queens campus. The panel featured three St. John’s alumni who are experts in the fields of trusts and estates, elder law, funeral planning, and financial planning.

Panelists included John Ceparano ’85CBA, a principal and wealth manager at Modera Wealth Management, LLC, who advises high net worth individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofit organizations; Donna Furey ’01L, an elder law attorney who stays active within the legal and local community, and recipient of St. John’s University’s 2007 Graduate Service Award for her involvement with St. John’s School of Law; and Giustina Martire ’92MBA, an agent for New York Life Insurance Company.

“Let me take a quick survey. You are in the right place if you are either single, married, widowed, or divorced. Is anybody here not one of those?” Mr. Ceparano said as guests laughed. “Then you are in the right place.”

Susan M. Damiani ’87CBA, Director of the Office of Gift Planning, encouraged attendees to take advantage of the Q&A and seek advice. “This is a great opportunity to get free information from financial advisers and attorneys,” she said.

 “Nearly half of women have a year with zero earnings in their top 35 years of earnings because they put their career on hold to care for children or an elderly parent,” Ms. Martire said. “That has a very serious impact on what is going to happen during retirement.” She also advised women to become familiar with social security, which is a growing concern in the country as the largest segment of the population reaches the age of 85.

One of the guests was Chibuye Munyonsi ’16G. She said that this event would help her consider her future finances. “People usually worry about financial planning when they are older,” she said. “I thought, ‘why not start now to see how I can save up for the future?’”

Although the discussion was geared toward women, men were also welcome. “I am a certified senior adviser and a reverse mortgage professional and I always like to stay up to date on estate planning,” said Stephen L. Conroy ’66C, a member of The Loughlin Society.

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