Family member just acquired $43,000 -- What to do?

[Evan Parker]

Hey BP Family! 

I have a family member who is near and dear to my heart, and they've come to me for advice and I unfortunately don't have enough knowledge to point them in the right direction. 

They are in their early 60's and just found out that they have a little over $40,000 from an old job's retirement account that they had in their early 20's. The company gave them the option to either get it all in a lump sum, or disperse it out over a select number of payments. 

Just to give perspective, they have worked very hard their whole life, is still working just as hard, and never really had anything to show for it, lived very modestly and never acquired any kind of wealth nor a real retirement account. I say that to say, this $40,000 is truly a very large amount of money for them to see. 

They're located in Houston, TX. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I even get a tad emotional thinking about it because I just want the best for this person and I fully recognize that this can be life altering if handled correctly.