The death of a spouse is perhaps the most emotionally traumatic event which humans experience. What would you do if your spouse died unexpectedly? In over 55% of married-couple families today, both marriage partners work outside the home at least part time. (1) Often the financial requirements to run the household substantially exceed the income of either spouse alone.
If an untimely death were to occur, the inability to meet financial obligations with the single remaining spouse’s income might require the hasty sale of assets or, even worse, a bank foreclosure on the family residence.
Life insurance is an excellent means of providing money when it is needed in these traumatic moments. Some families are fortunate enough to allow either the mother or father to stay home with small children while the other earns sufficient cash to meet household and living expenses.
It is obvious that the loss of a breadwinner would create a financial calamity. Couples should consider the potential cost of replacing the services of the spouse who stays at home to care for the children. Without the deceased spouse, a surviving spouse working outside the home would face new expenditures for child care, either in the home or at a babysitter or day care center as well as someone to take the children to the doctor, dentist, piano lessons, etc.
Perhaps the surviving parent could take time off work to fulfill these obligations, but this time off work would also amount to a financial loss. Most families can help effectively remove this potential financial emergency by acquiring a life insurance policy on each spouse.
Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012, Table 700 Married-Couple Families; data from 2009.
Steve Savant is a contributor to Back Room Technician, an Advisys Company
Co-Founder, Coastal Financial Partners Group, California
Spousal life insurance isn't a special type of policy. Life insurance on spouses is a fundamental planning matter. In dual income families, it is important for both earners to consider life insurance to protect the income they each depend on as the lost of one or both would likely result in financial hardship. In the event of a stay at home spouse life insurance should be considered as the loss of that spouse may have a financial impact through new expenses such as day care.
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If an untimely death were to occur, the inability to meet financial obligations with the single remaining spouse’s income might require the hasty sale of assets or, even worse, a bank foreclosure on the family residence.
Life insurance is an excellent means of providing money when it is needed in these traumatic moments. Some families are fortunate enough to allow either the mother or father to stay home with small children while the other earns sufficient cash to meet household and living expenses.
It is obvious that the loss of a breadwinner would create a financial calamity. Couples should consider the potential cost of replacing the services of the spouse who stays at home to care for the children. Without the deceased spouse, a surviving spouse working outside the home would face new expenditures for child care, either in the home or at a babysitter or day care center as well as someone to take the children to the doctor, dentist, piano lessons, etc.
Perhaps the surviving parent could take time off work to fulfill these obligations, but this time off work would also amount to a financial loss. Most families can help effectively remove this potential financial emergency by acquiring a life insurance policy on each spouse.
Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012, Table 700 Married-Couple Families; data from 2009.
Steve Savant is a contributor to Back Room Technician, an Advisys Company