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Message
Can someone give me Life Insurance Advice?
Posted on 2/19/13 at 2:37 pm
Posted on 2/19/13 at 2:37 pm
How much coverage would the Money board advise?
I am married with one child
I have a mortgage, and that is the only significant debt I have.
Should I factor in credit card debt into this?
What is the standard for deciding how much coverage I should get?
I am married with one child
I have a mortgage, and that is the only significant debt I have.
Should I factor in credit card debt into this?
What is the standard for deciding how much coverage I should get?
Posted on 2/19/13 at 2:52 pm to MaesterMullen
quote:
I have a mortgage, and that is the only significant debt I have.
quote:
Should I factor in credit card debt into this?
Well, which is it?
Depends what your wife makes, what's left on your house, if your kid needs tuition money, etc. Being married with a kid while having no life insurance is pretty risky.
I did a 30 year term through Zander. It's a $500,000 policy for less than $300 a year but I was young and healthy when I did it. I think I've read a good starting point is 10 x's your salary but again, if your wife makes good enough money, you might not need as much. If she stays at home, get more.
Posted on 2/19/13 at 2:54 pm to MaesterMullen
20-30 yr term.
Buy as much coverage as you feel comfortable spending each month.
I used to sell life ins and that's what I'd do.
Let customer decide.
Buy as much coverage as you feel comfortable spending each month.
I used to sell life ins and that's what I'd do.
Let customer decide.
Posted on 2/19/13 at 2:54 pm to CQQ
well the credit card debt is only about 5k.
My wife makes about the same as I do.
And I guess the longer term is the way to go?
My wife makes about the same as I do.
And I guess the longer term is the way to go?
Posted on 2/19/13 at 2:57 pm to MaesterMullen
quote:
And I guess the longer term is the way to go?
It depends how old you are and how much you think you will have when your term ends. Mine will run until I'm 55 and by then, I hope I have saved well enough that we won't need a new policy.
Posted on 2/19/13 at 2:58 pm to MaesterMullen
How old are you?
How old is the kid?
Any plans to have more kids?
How old is the kid?
Any plans to have more kids?
Posted on 2/19/13 at 3:02 pm to Ric Flair
quote:
How old are you?
How old is the kid?
Any plans to have more kids?
I'm 28 and my son is 2
No plans to have more kids, but it's always possible I suppose
Posted on 2/19/13 at 3:14 pm to MaesterMullen
With one kid, I'd get enough to pay off the house, the kid's in state college tuition/room/board, and 10x salary on top of that (unless you make over 100K, then I would cap the 10x salary number at 1 million). I'd do a thirty year term policy.
Basically enough for your wife/kid to live comfortable if you die, but not enough for her to kill you over it.
Basically enough for your wife/kid to live comfortable if you die, but not enough for her to kill you over it.
Posted on 2/19/13 at 3:16 pm to MaesterMullen
How much does your wife make? Will she be getting annual raises? If she makes decent money (50k or so) and her career is stable then I'd say $500,000 term over 30 years and obviously whatever your employer offers. Mine offers 1.5 x's my salary at no charge so I essentially have $600,000. My wife makes more than I do so it's more than enough.
Note - I am no insurance expert, I was just doing all this a year or so ago so it's still fresh
Note - I am no insurance expert, I was just doing all this a year or so ago so it's still fresh
This post was edited on 2/19/13 at 3:17 pm
Posted on 2/19/13 at 3:16 pm to Ric Flair
should i advise her to get a poicy too? (wife)
Posted on 2/19/13 at 3:17 pm to CQQ
quote:
How much does your wife make? Will she be getting annual raises?
not much right now, she's still a student. it's not anwhere close to 50k. After she graduates, I'm guessing a job in her field would go around 50k.
Posted on 2/19/13 at 3:18 pm to MaesterMullen
quote:
should i advise her to get a poicy too? (wife)
Yes, dude. Unless you are a doctor and won't need help paying your mortgage and being a single father, obviously she needs a policy. What's wrong with you guys not having life insurance with a kid and mortgage? You both want to stick the other with all that if you kill over
Posted on 2/19/13 at 3:20 pm to MaesterMullen
quote:
not much right now, she's still a student. it's not anwhere close to 50k. After she graduates, I'm guessing a job in her field would go around 50k.
Maybe opt for $750,000 although if she'll have a stable income that might be excessive. You might want to both sit down with someone that you can give better details to. Do it now, though, while your policy will be cheap due to your age/health.
This post was edited on 2/19/13 at 3:21 pm
Posted on 2/19/13 at 3:20 pm to CQQ
yeah, it's something i've needed to do for awhile.
Posted on 2/19/13 at 3:23 pm to MaesterMullen
Try to google life insurance calculator and fill out everything. Again, try Zander. You fill out all your info and it brings up a number of quotes and you pick the lowest.
Posted on 2/19/13 at 4:19 pm to MaesterMullen
Depends on what you want the life Insurance to do for you.
As a rule of thumb I always cover all debt, no matter what. I then usually suggest anywhere from $15-$30K for final expenses/funeral expenses (if you haven't looked at what those costs these days, it is ridiculous).
Other points to consider, does your wife work? If so, income replacement may not be as important (though still important), then if she doesn't work. Say you wanted to provide your wife with $3,000 per month of income for 5 years to help her ease into being the single parent, that would be another $175K or so of death benefit.
As for your kid, how old is he/she? If it were me, and I passed away, I would want their Education completely funded. If you know you plan on having more kids in a few years, I would think about going ahead and planning for that, because you don't want to be in a position where you couldn't get anymore.
Depending on how young you are, the policy duration for you will vary. If you are young, I would get the longest policy you can. I know many think that you won't need life insurance into your 50's and 60's, but I have seen WAY too many instances where it has been needed, but not able to be gotten, so it is always best to leave yourself with flexibility and options.
As CQQ said, GET A POLICY ON YOUR WIFE I would advise sitting down with an adviser, and have them help educate you on this stuff. If you are recently graduating, I'll almost guaratnee you know at least one person who has started to sell life insurance
Hope that helps some. If you have any other questions, please fire away.
As a rule of thumb I always cover all debt, no matter what. I then usually suggest anywhere from $15-$30K for final expenses/funeral expenses (if you haven't looked at what those costs these days, it is ridiculous).
Other points to consider, does your wife work? If so, income replacement may not be as important (though still important), then if she doesn't work. Say you wanted to provide your wife with $3,000 per month of income for 5 years to help her ease into being the single parent, that would be another $175K or so of death benefit.
As for your kid, how old is he/she? If it were me, and I passed away, I would want their Education completely funded. If you know you plan on having more kids in a few years, I would think about going ahead and planning for that, because you don't want to be in a position where you couldn't get anymore.
Depending on how young you are, the policy duration for you will vary. If you are young, I would get the longest policy you can. I know many think that you won't need life insurance into your 50's and 60's, but I have seen WAY too many instances where it has been needed, but not able to be gotten, so it is always best to leave yourself with flexibility and options.
As CQQ said, GET A POLICY ON YOUR WIFE I would advise sitting down with an adviser, and have them help educate you on this stuff. If you are recently graduating, I'll almost guaratnee you know at least one person who has started to sell life insurance
Hope that helps some. If you have any other questions, please fire away.
This post was edited on 2/19/13 at 4:22 pm
Posted on 2/19/13 at 4:45 pm to MaesterMullen
You should have LI on you, your wife, and your child. Depends on how much you can afford but a combination of permanent and term for you and your wife would be the best thing you could do. Sure you can do a 30 year term policy and be covered for dirt cheap, but then you either have no coverage or you're paying an extremely high premium every year after your level term period is over. Funerals are getting more and more expensive and probating can cost up to 3% of your estate (at least in FL). For your child you can get a plan for as little as $2 a month that guarantees his insurability for the future.
Posted on 2/19/13 at 7:24 pm to gatorsimz
The only reason to get insurance on a child is for funeral expenses if u cannot afford that out of pocket. The idea is to keep the family income intact. ..A child's death, while tragic, does not adversely affect ur financial status. ..
Posted on 2/19/13 at 7:25 pm to MaesterMullen
Rule of thumb is 10 times your annual salary. Generally, with your social security, that will cover your family after you're gone. Your wife won't be able to draw your social security once your son turns 18 (19 if still in high school), so that's where the investments she will have made with your policy payout comes in handy. Go with term-30 year. Don't let anybody talk you into a whole life, universal life, or decreasing term policy.
Posted on 2/19/13 at 7:30 pm to slaphappy
quote:
The only reason to get insurance on a child is for funeral expenses if u cannot afford that out of pocket.
That's one reason, but it also establishes the availability of life insurance for the future. If a child develops a disease (diabetes, cancer, etc). It can seriously hinder any chance of them obtaining coverage once they reach adulthood. By buying when they're young (like somebody said $2 per month) you guarantee that they will be able to add coverage in the future (without proving eligibility). I've got a $25,000 policy on both my kids- $3 each per month.
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