romanojg

I agree, its not about what to leave your kids. I'm single now and I want to make sure everything is paid off when I go and I can have a decent funeral. When I get the money I want to pre-buy my plot, etc so that I know its all good. My house will be paid off in 3 yrs and it would be a shame that in the mean time something would happen to me and my house could go to strangers being so close to paid off. My policy is only a few yrs old and I just borrowed from it to get repairs done to my house because I couldn't afford to do it any other way. If I were or get married again, I wouldn't want the surviving half to be stuck with the bills caused by my death, medical, etc. Its more than thinking about what to leave behind for your kids. Make sure all is covered, burial, bills, etc. Anything that could make someone else's life worse if you died then go from there. How would you handle it if your spouse died and there was no money, do you have it all covered. The focus shouldn't be on the kids but just make sure you have a will in place so that the government doesn't get what you do have and if the kids or grandkids have something, then great. If mine are upset because I couldn't afford to leave them anything, then I did something wrong in their up bringing or they have misplaced values.

cathyvv

Term life insurance is really month-to-month insurance and builds no cash value. However, because it does not build cash value, it is cheaper than whole life and you can usually get more insurance bang for your buck. It's the right kind of insurance to many people because of that alone. It is especially good to have term life if you are in good health, young and have a family to provide for - again, more insurance bang for the buck.

Some feel that whole life is a better buy than term insurance because it builds cash value. I'm not one of those people. Why? Because all of the whole life insurance policies take a LONG time to build cash value, are heavily front loaded with the sales persons commission and pay almost nothing in interest. (Although, at this time, Whole life policies might pay more interest than banks!)

I have no doubt that your term life insurer will, after your 20 years are up, try to get you to convert the term life ins to either a whole life policy (more money and commissions!) or sell you a new term life policy for many more $$$ a month.

Having said that, I took my 401K and put it into a variable annuity that a) includes a life insurance policy on me and my husband, b) is invested to make more $$, c) the amount the annuity is based on will reset upward by 7% simple interest every year for the first 10 years or to whatever the investments value is on the anniversary, if the investment value is greater than the 7% simple interest. d) I can withdraw the money from it if I want, e) if I die before drawing on the annuity, my beneficiaries will get the money. f) If i die after starting to draw on the annuity, my beneficiaries will get the balance of the annuity.

I got that in August 2008, just before the market crashed...that policy is no longer sold!

NOTE: Before purchasing an annuity of any kind, make sure that it will pay out your money to your beneficiaries if you were to pass away before you start drawing the annuity. Some annuities don't. They just pocket your money and wave good by to your family.

Jingle

We have life insurance so our bills can be paid. No funerals or burials, just a waste of money and ground. We own a business and kids will need money to continue it and of course paying taxes. Taxes you owe do not end with your death. We have a trust.

Pam B

Oh my, yes! We have a combination of term and whole life! We have big policies on DH and myself and smaller policies on each of our three kids (grown now but we still pay the premiums on them). Sometimes I complain that we are 'insurance poor'.

CookyIN

I think a term life insurance makes sense when you're young and have children. As you approach age 50, the numbers don't add up for me. You can sock away that monthly payment in an account and be as well off. I carefully look over every pitch I get for life insurance, and I've never found one that holds up under careful scrutiny with a calculator.

And could someone please tell me what this often-heard statement means: "Your premiums will never increase due to your age." Okay. So under what circumstances can they increase?

Sandygirl

So what happens to the surviving spouse IF the other passes and they are one e of the breadwinners?? w/o life insurance, the surviving spouse may find themselves going back to work if they dont already work. Life insurance also provides income live on and not just for paying final expenses, etc.

Long Term Care insurance is an entirely different policy for covering nursing home expenses, if the need arises. One has to READ the policy before signing up. they don't always cover the expenses you " think" they will cover.


Notice that i did not mention "children" of the spouses??? Assuming most of here do not have minor kids vs. grown ones.
Sandy

romanojg

I would assume that like when you are getting insurance if you have medical problems they can cause you to either not get insurance or make it higher. If you all of a sudden get a disease or something I guess they could raise your insurance. It's like I started a life insurance policy 13 yrs ago for each of my at that time minor kids, not that I expected anything to happen to them but if they got a disease, etc while growing up they could be refused a policy. My kids are now 24 and 26 and as long as I work I will continue to pay for thier policy and when I quit working, I'll either pay out of my pocket or let them do it. This policy can remain in effect no matter what health issues may arise as long as all premiums are paid. As a parent I naturally never expected to have to use it for funeral expenses but this was the best way to help guarantee they had coverage when they became adults and it builds each yr. Making sure they are covered is more important than worrying about what I can leave them when I'm gone.

Also, be aware that not all states have the same laws about responsibilities to bills etc when either the spouse or parent dies. You need to find out what your survivors would be responsible for when deciding what to do. I wouldn't want to make anyone that I cared about have a hardship because I was trying to save money (if I had any) while I was alive. I'd rather live on a very fixed income before I'd do that to them.

coopah

Ask if it's possible to convert what you've already got into a "paid up term life" insurance policy. My Dad sold insurance and that's a term he used now and then. Remember that life insurance monies are not taxable...yet.

Stitchit123

I'm with you on the rip off scam. As soon as the funeral homes find out that there was a policy -BAM- up goes the cost and I'm not talking a few dollars.We did not have a policy when my husband passed.Cremation with insurance quotes were $3200 and more. As soon as I told them there was no ins. I got numerous hang ups. Finally one said they would only charge me $900 seeing as how there would be no showing or use of their facilities. So I plan on making sure my cremation is paid for long before I make the trip.

Needles

No life insurance here, our home is paid for, our arrangements are set and all our son has to do is have a for sale sign put up, he can give it away for all I care. He educated himself into a great career and has never been a material person. I've never been a fan of ANY insurance but as we know, some is mandatory. As stated before, be sure your insurance is good after a certain age. Much of it is not and it takes a legal eagle to get though all the unintelligible language where it says, not covered. Same way with homeowners! Especially that one!