Insights Straight to Your Inbox

Tips, freebies, event invites, and more to make your Childfree life even more amazing

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AboutPodcast

Insights Straight to Your Inbox

Tips, freebies, event invites, and more to make your Childfree life even more amazing

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Melissa Holcombe headshot

Melissa Holcombe

DSW, LCSW

Senior Advisor, Childfree Trust

Melissa Holcombe brings years of insight and an extensive background in guardianship and probate to Childfree Insights.

Her experience includes conducting competency assessments for adult guardianship petitions for Probate courts and serving guardianship clients through Adult Protective Services. This practical, in-the-field experience provides her with a distinctive ability to navigate complex legal and emotional dynamics for individuals.

For three decades, Melissa has distinguished herself through dedicated advocacy and exemplary work in social services. Following a decade of leadership as a child welfare case manager and supervisor, she spent 20 years in the public school system. During her tenure, she served as the McKinney-Vento Homeless Liaison and Foster Care Point of Contact, specializing in support for vulnerable student populations.

Additionally, Melissa is one of the nation's first Certified Veterinary Social Workers (VSW), having earned her certification while completing her doctorate at the University of Tennessee in 2014. She provides compassionate counseling to those grieving the loss of a companion animal and seminars on compassion fatigue within the animal services community. She also shares her knowledge as an adjunct professor of undergraduate level social work.

In her free time, Melissa enjoys camping, hiking, and kayaking with her dog, Darcy.

Episode 186: Planning the Life You Actually Have

In this episode, Bri Conn CFP® sits down with Hillary, a client who is Childfree not by choice, for a real-life Childfree Wealth® checkup. Hillary has already done much of the emotional heavy lifting, moving through grief, redefining what her future looks like, and arriving at a place of clarity and intention. Now she is ready to match that clarity with a financial plan that actually fits her life.

Episode 185: Finding Your True Calling When Society Has Other Plans

In this episode, Bri Conn CFP® sits down with Sister Monica Clare, Episcopal nun and author of A Change of Habit, for a conversation about what it actually takes to stop living for other people’s expectations and start designing a life around who you actually are.

Episode 184: Women and Credit: The History That Still Shapes Your Finances

In this episode, Bri Conn, CFP® sits down with Grace L. Williams, financial journalist and author of Give Her Credit, to trace the women’s banking movement from a living room in Denver to the laws that changed everything. Grace spent nearly a decade researching the founders of Women’s Bank, the legislation that finally gave women access to credit, and the remarkable, often overlooked stories of the women who made it happen.

Episode 183: Money, Independence, and the Childfree Woman

Maddy and Bri talk honestly about what the data actually shows for Childfree women and financial independence.

Episode 182: Designing Your End of Life

Maddy and Zeena Regis of Compassion and Choices, have a frank discussion about medical aid in dying, end-of-life options, and what intentional death planning really looks like for people living a Childfree life.

Episode 181: Planning Without Next of Kin

Chris Dale, CFP®, CeFT® shares a real story of a Childfree client who finalized his estate documents just weeks before a major accident.