Who needs life insurance? If you will leave behind a family and are an income earner for your family, you should have life insurance. If the end of your income will mean that your surviving spouse or children will have to change their lifestyles, take on an additional job, forego educational opportunities, you should have life insurance. If you have a disabled child or spouse, you should have life insurance. If there is some charity you would like to donate to, you should have life insurance.
Generally it is the husband who earns more income and the wife who earns less. For convenience only, I will refer here to the husband is the primary earner. Often these days, wives earn just as much or more. You can make the switch if you are in one of those families where the wife earns more or if you are part of a non-traditional arrangement.
If you have a mortgage and other debts, you should have enough insurance to pay them off or at least service those debts for many years.
If you have young children, and if your wife stays at home and cares for those children, you should have enough insurance to allow her to continue spending the same amount of time with them. She should not be forced to spend less time with your children because she has to go to work to replace your income.
You should have enough insurance to replace the income you provide the family at least until your children are all through college.
If your wife is disabled or unable to work, you should have enough insurance to take care of her for the rest of her life. Any insurance payoff can be turned into a lifetime annuity.
If you are not the primary breadwinner, the wife in my example, but still have an income, you too need insurance. This is particularly true if your family has a mortgage and other debts and if you have children at home. Your income helps service those debts. Without your husband is going to have to work more hours, and if you have children, he will have less time to spend with them. This is not a result you should want.
We tend to avoid thinking about death. When we visit someone old and sick, we say, "You are not going to die." But the truth is that we all are going to die. We all will face the BIG D. We will never be ready, but we can at least be financially prepared to protect those we leave behind.
If we thought and talked more about death, maybe we would not fear it so much. Maybe we would do a better job of identifying what is really important in our lives. Maybe we would focus on our life goals and complete them. Maybe we would write a thoughtful will that would set up a trust to care for our survivors and supports some charitable organization we believe in.
Call me at 425-774-6611 or 888-999-2022 for further information. The fax number is 425-776-8081. Or e-mail me. The fax number is 425-776-8081. Click here to sign up for our e-mail messages, our printed mailings, or to request a call back.
Copyright © 2008 James Robert Deal.