Thoughts About Unexpected Departure

[Markus]

I know the title is somewhat vague, but I didn't want to be so blunt and the subject isn't very pleasant. But, I have made preparations to protect my
wife financially is case I die unexpectedly. I think it's important for the AM/WM or whoever brings in the income to think about the financial obligations
if case one spouse passes away. So, here are some of my thoughts.

I have health insurance through my company but I have verified that if I died my coverage would not continue to my wife, except through COBRA (in the U.S.), which I have been told is quite expensive. We don't have any children but if we did the company health insurance would still not cover children except through COBRA. I believe the maximum time period for COBRA is 3 years. My question is not in advocacy of Government Health Insurance, but a question of curiosity. Have you thought about health insurance for your wife in case you died?

What about life insurance? Have you thought about protecting your assets for your wife with enough monies through life insurance?  Do you have enough coverage to sustain her for the rest of her life?

I have a will in place, and not an Internet will, but a will from a law firm that dictates the distribution of our assets to my wife in case of my death. The will also includes decisions that can be made by my wife for life support. That's why I haven't told her how I'm worth dead (just kidding).

There may be many more things we should consider in case of unexpected death. I have done what I think is necessary to take care of my wife in case I die. This subject isn't the most pleasant but is important in caring for our wives. Are there other things to consider?

Mark

[Chicagoguy]

Pre Nuptial Agreements, Wills, Trusts

Life Insurance, Health Insurance

It has been a complicated subject for me lately and is very individual and most people probably need professional advice.

[shakespear]

There may be many more things we should consider in case of unexpected death. I have done what I think is necessary to take care of my wife in case I die. This subject isn't the most pleasant but is important in caring for our wives. Are there other things to consider? 

Excellent topic Mark.

I know my wife absolutely refuses to discuss this matter in any shape or forum.  Russian superstition holds that if you discuss something bad, you are inviting it to happen to you.

I've got a term life insurance policy for about $150,000.  Retirement assets near $500,000.  But I've had to inform my step-daughter and her fiancee of what to do in the event of my eventual demise,  Things like my desire you utilize my free G.I tombstone and desire to be cremated instead of buried. 

Anybody having better luck than I have in being able to sit your FSU wife down and discuss these important matters?

[ECOCKS]

My advice for most folks would be to apply the KISS! principle. Keep It Simple (Stupid!) is just trying no to overcomplicate a relatively simple situation. MY will stipulates that when I die the wife gets everything. If we both die together or she precedes me it is split equally between the three surviving children (my 2 sons and hers). Unless you are into trusts and have child issues, most poeple's estates shouldn't be any more complicated than that. My sons know what I have done and my wife is considering what she will do with regard to setting up her own will. We have discussed it but I see she is still struggling with treatment of the children.

I also have two life insurance policies, both made payable to her. If the sons want something like insurance which pays directly to them they have ample chances to obtain a policy for that purpose.

[viking]

Markus, I will stand corrected, but isn't COBRA only 18 months?

[Markus]

Viking,

On the length of the term I'm not sure. There are situations, one including death of a spouse, that allows the term to go up to 36 months. I
admit, I cannot verify that statement with proof. I was doing some scam reading on the Cobra site and will need to go back and study. The site is government,
which is usual government words and I need to study it more to be precise. My 3 year maximum is speculative at this point.

shakespear,

Yea I understand the superstition stuff. My wife has a bit of that but I politely let her know my thoughts about superstition, which is superstition
is a myth. I put that myth aside and discuss her options as if I'm not here to discuss in the now. I think it's important for the man to have this
discussion with his wife.

Ecocks

It looks like you have a good plan in place and this is the topic. We should make sure we have the plans in place. On a side note,
your avatar changed. Did you get a haircut?

Mark

[aikorob]

New will has been made, as well as changing the insurance and 401K papers.
I explained what I did, but we did not discuss many details. I did put the contact info for the HR department at my work with the will---that way she can easily get answers about the insurance.


As an aside: MAKE SURE YOU CHANGE BENIFICIARIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   If you don't remove the ex-wife from the will; that can be challenged in court-----but the insurance must go to the listed beneficiary.

[Enot]

You only need a big life insurance policy if you have kids that can't support themselves.  If it is just you and the misses, get enough to plant you/her.  Also by the grave sites/headstones/urns now.  They won't go up in price like a prearranged funeral.  If it is just you and the misses, take the extra cash you would have had for a big insurance policy and invest wisely, this is what the insurance companies do and make money off the money you give them.  Why not cut out the middle man/insurance agency?

Yes my wife also doesn't want to talk about it.  I bought our graves sites, headstones, and urns.  If I die she will receive about 90% of what I make now and each year she will get a COLA increase also.  Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

So don't buy a huge insurance policy unless you have minor children.  Get a small one, enough to bury you and invest the rest.

[Vaughn]

Anybody having better luck than I have in being able to sit your FSU wife down and discuss these important matters?

A little bit. My wife's come to realize that matters of practicality trump superstition, especially
since she's witmessed what lack of preparation can beget. Discussions, while uncomfortable for her,
are informative and productive. It's occurred to me that I should create a packet of information to
include all she needs to know should I die.

Health insurance: she works, was recently "awarded" full-time status, which qualifies her for medical
coverage, though she rides on my policy with two of our three children. She is able to enact her own
coverage immediately in the case of a life-changing event (ie, my death). There are private policies
available, nationally and by state. COBRA tends to be outrageously expensive for the average worker.
I've used it only once for a few months' gap in coverage.

Perhaps the most significant thing one can do while living is to arrange avoidances for your spouse's
and children's Estate Tax liability. A good place for Yanks to begin follows...

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_tax_in_the_United_States

[GQBlues]

I showed my wife the best corner in our city where she can sell bags of oranges in case something happens to me....

Seriously though, you need to appoint someone as your power-of-attorney. Your lawyer or even accountant are good choices. Leaving your entiree state to your wife in that fateful event doesn't do either of your any good IF you both suffered the fate (accident). Then the Democrats will have nice with your money.

I had my will done 6 months after getting hitched, covering as much contingencies I can possibly fathom that may happen. There are people, in addition to my wife, that I feel gratitude and emotionally indebted for which will be part of my $2.00 estate bonanza. 401, savings, assets, SS, etc...are fully slated for her alone if we're still together during my passing. If not, either divorce or seperated, which my accountant will know, then it automatically dwindle to a percentage.

They just poured the slab in the home we recently purchased. I am actively searching information regarding rates to insure the home's loan to be fully paid in the event I die. This can get pretty sticky business for obvious reason specially since I am asking not to be on life support if it comes to that. Sticky because it will involve my wife (with intense emotional involvement, the bank, insurance company etc..). I'd hate to lay there like a vegetable breathing through a tube while they argue if I am in fact dead or alive. Thank the silly Democrats for that. The option to this is getting enough value on my life insurance to make sure she won't don't have to worry about money issues without me.

My wife works now so she's fully covered medically. She was under my employer's coverage before but with her new career blooming, she's able to generate like coverage on her own now. She's young and vibrant and insurers like young people a lot, those # ! # SOB.

Cremation is my preferrence - at least when I'm dead. I don't want to get stuffed like a turkey so people can gawked at me only to be left rotting 6' deep on the ground with no one to play with, then have future anthropologists dig up what's left of me and proclaim me as the missing link. That would really sux. I would like to be the dust in the wind and still maintain the ability to give someone a flu.

Now if my wife persists on leaving unrinsed tea cups all over the kitchen counter, I may scrap the entire program altogether, dunno.

As for the sensitivity of this issue - deal with it and put your foot down. You're the man of the house.

[acrzybear]

Of course in my nice safe line of work I don't have to worry about such silly things as death

 My plan would include making sure My wife knows where all the paperwork is and to make sure that if I died, everything would be taken care of.  I would make sure that the house would be paid off, the college education and living expenses were taken care of.  I would want everything to be dealt with so shoe would not have to worry about anything financial.  I would have copies with my attorney and copies in a safe.  The good thing about my line of work is that there are all kinds of benefits/money available for my family if I die in the line of duty.

[DKMM]

Make sure you set up a folder or something she can open to get information should something happen (disability even).  I showed my wife where she should look for information in case something happens and she got those sad eyes... I had to explain nothing will happen but in case I "die from her beauty" (humor works) she needs to know how to help herself to stand on her own feet.

Anyways, passwords, retirement accounts, etc. its all there.