Financial guru Bonnie Kirchner on how to find the right financial advisor

Picking a financial planner can be hard. Bonnie Kirchner ought to know. The certified financial planner and Boston-based financial personality discovered in 2004 that she was married to one of the biggest swindlers in American history. Her husband, Bradford Bleidt, defrauded his clients of $30 million in what was one of the biggest Ponzi schemes before Bernie Madoff.

To demystify the process, Kirchner wrote a handy guide to hiring someone titled "Who Can You Trust with Your Money? Get the Help You Ned Now and Avoid Dishonest Advisors." Kirchner gave WalletPop a quick run-down of what we need to do before signing up with an advisor.