We have mortgage insurance on the house, so if I were to die, it'd be paid off. My wife is a sham. I am on the birth certificate for two of the kids, so if I die while they are minors, they get social security benefits (I think?) So that being said, I'm thinking 50k should be plenty to keep my wife on her feet for a little while until she can find a job (although by then she might have a job already) What do you think? She says I should keep the 100k, she's greedy.
You are a cheapskate. I have a $100,000 dollar policy and I don't even have kids or a wife. I was hoping that would be enough to bury me and buy dog biscuits for my pooch for the next 7 or so years but with Doc's math maybe I should up it to $1,000,000.
what is your net take home pay a year right now?
multiply that times the number of years until your youngest child graduates from high school - that is basically the least amount of coverage you should have
$50,000 is a joke - you obviously do not care about your children
get term insurance whole life is also a joke - Term is a lot cheaper than whole life / you probably get 5 times the coverage for the same premium
If that's all you can afford, go get another term policy. If you make MINIMUM WAGE, your $50,000 will leave her with less than 3 years of income replacement after you're funeral!
You need at least 500k of term insurance right now. Skip the permanent insurance until you can afford it.
Basing on my experience in claims investigation, I think 50K would be enough. If your saying that your wife is a sham, she might be tempted later on to kill you if she will benefit from the proceeds (100K) of your insurance. But if your wife loves you very much, amount is no longer a question. I hope I was able to answer your query.
Genesis8
You need to consider any debt you have like school loans, credit cards, and the mortgage (this will need to be paid until the house sells) And the furneral costs. I don't think 50K or even 100K is enough for a family with 3 kids I personally think 300-400K would be safe amount.
Just die and give her $100G. That will last her a week, maybe. After taxes, burial costs, and legal fees, she'll net about $400.
With the $50G policy, she could take the kids out to McDonald's for breakfast after your funeral.
Genesis8 has a good point. Up it to $20 million. Tell your wife I've got a serial number free heater she can have.
I think she should plan on working when and if you die. She can get a job and support herself and the children DO get social security until age 18.
The house is paid off. That's enough for her; tell her to find a sugar daddy if you die.
Since you already made the switch, there's nothing you can do about it now. Just don't be in a hurry to hit the bucket. Make your wife suffer for at least 40 more years.
DON'T WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING. PUT THOUSTSELF IN THE HANDS AND BEANUS OF GOD.
http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo250…
it's better than nothing.
I once blew through $27K in six months, but I was doing cocaine.
Call your insurance agent ASAP!! Tell him you changed your mind.
And, the reason has nothing to do with your wife.
You were screwed by your insurance agent. Now you are paying more and getting half the coverage!! That makes no sense.
Did you tell your insurance agent that you were replacing one policy with another? Did they put that info on the application? It is required by law that the insurance agent notify the company that you are replacing one policy with another, even if the replacement is in the same company. The reason for that is usually customers get screwed when they replace their policy. That is what happened to you.
Call your insurance agent and ask. And, tell them you want your old policy back or you will file a complaint with the Department of Insurance in your state. Your insurance agent looked for commission in their pocket and did not put your best interest first. That is totally wrong.
A link is below to file a complaint. Just click on your state. You got ripped off. And, $50,000 is not enough.
If you should die and if your 2 kids are under age 18, they can get survivors benefits to age 18. Check your social security statement that you receive each year. They mail to you 3 months prior to your b/day. They list your benefits at age 62, 66 and 70 plus the amount if you are disabled. There is a category for survivor benefits also, which would show the amount your children would be eligible for. You can also go online and get this info.
But life insurance is based on multiple things and your age. With small children and spouse, she would have to support them on 1 income if she works and survivor benefits. Normally you might want extra to put your children thu college. Your spouse would need to feed, clothe and take care of them till they are adults. Once your children are adults, then you need to think of terms of what she would need to support herself if she was unable to work, be it for sickness or other.
Now with whole life, the amount is guaranteed but you get less coverage for the same amount of money. And yes, you can borrow or cash out some of the funds, but you have to remember, that if you cash out, that amount is deducted from the final amount. Say after 10 years you have enough to cash out $10,000, so when you die, there is only $40,000 left. But you maybe surprised to find out that the cash out amount of your policy maybe really low. When you get your policy, look at the amount per year it accumulates and cash value.
Also, whole life pays a huge commission to the agent vs term life, hence the reason he encouraged you to transfer. My guess is that in the next 10 years or so, you will decide that this whole life policy for $50K is not enough and that time, do some research 1st on what to get.
good luck
What's the GOAL of the life insurance? Is $50K enough to meet that goal? Is there ever going to be a time when you don't NEED life insurance?
Life insurance is a crappy savings/investing tool. If you "run the numbers", you'll realize that paying 10X as much for half the coverage, just so that 10% of what you pay in goes to a savings account, isn't mathmatically very smart.
But. If you die tomorrow, even if your wife gets a job making EXACTLY how much you were making before, how long is $50K going to last for child care for ALL of her children? I'm assuming there are at least three. Childcare is going to run $1500 a month, which works out to $18,000 a year.
I think if you die, your wife - and kids, too - are screwed, if your financial plan is "$50K, social security survivor benefits, and wifey working".
Or look at it this way - if you quit your job and stayed home with the kids, how well would YOU be living, off of her earnings?