Not everyone has life insurance. If you’re doing your estate planning, though, it’s something you may want to consider.
After all, part of estate planning is simply considering your family’s needs and deciding how you can help meet them, even if you’re not physically around to do it. In the same way that you would pick a guardian for a minor child or ask adult children which assets they want most, you have to consider the financial side.
Say that you are married and you have an expensive family home. It is not paid off yet. The monthly payments are within your budget, but only because you and your spouse both work.
Now imagine that you passed away without warning. Your spouse drops from two incomes to just one. Can he or she still afford that home? If not, does that mean that your spouse and your children have to move during what is already a stressful time?
Life insurance can help to cover the cost, either by giving your spouse money to replace that lost income or by giving them enough to pay off the loan and eliminate the debt. It’s not the only way to do it — you may be able to set up your plan to allocate financial assets to take care of your debt automatically — but it is one way to create a sudden influx of money when it is needed most.
If you’re interested in this or any other part of estate planning, be sure you know what steps you need to take to achieve your goals. An experienced attorney can help you better understand all of the options available to you.