Are you ready to die -- today?

[supermike80 1,282]

Owner of a company I used to work for just died recently. He was in his office, talking with a couple people. said his chest hurt and BOOM...In less than 30 minutes he was dead.

 

REALLY got me thinking..I made sure my wife has all the financial information...account #'s, passwords. We are going to sit down and get a will done. at 50, I have to really think about that. Upped my life insurance as well.

 

Scary to have to think about sometimes, but hiding my head in the sand isn't a good option either.

[NorthernVike 2,079]

Why up your life insurance ? Your debt should be decreasing and your assets increasing. Hence less need for it. The cost of life insurance in your 50s is high. Don't make it to good for the next guy.

[supermike80 1,282]

Why up your life insurance ? Your debt should be decreasing and your assets increasing. Hence less need for it. The cost of life insurance in your 50s is high. Don't make it to good for the next guy.

What??? If I die tomorrow, I would like to know my wife will receive some benefit. It's through work and its't huge. I don't understand your comment?

[cyclone24 1,792]

I'm good. Wife and I both have million-dollar policies for our girls. Saw the Cubs win the World Series. I've already done everything I wanted to do.

 

Ive said for a while I've only got one thing left to do and that's walk three girls down an aisle.

[Brad GLuckman 518]

What??? If I die tomorrow, I would like to know my wife will receive some benefit. It's through work and its't huge. I don't understand your comment?

I think it's kind of...make sure you enjoy life now instead of pumping a bunch of money into life insurance so your wife can live like a queen if you die. You're 50. Kids most likely close to leaving the house or already out? Are there a lot of bills left?

[IGotWorms 3,297]

Yeah I dont get the life insurance thing.

 

Cyclone, no offense but you dont even work. What are you insuring?

 

I think some of you maybe dont get the point of life insurance.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

What??? If I die tomorrow, I would like to know my wife will receive some benefit. It's through work and its't huge. I don't understand your comment?

 

I think he is saying that you should have already had that big life insurance policy as soon as you procreated. You do a 20 year policy that covers your family if you die while the kids are young enough. Having insurance for when you are 60 and the kids are out of college is not really worth it.

 

I think I have 3 policies:

- one through work that is worth 1x of my salary and 2x of my salary if I die while working

- one old one that my mother opened for me when I was in college (she worked for an insurance company)

- one that I updated about 15 years ago when I had my second kid for about $1m - I think that is a 30 year term.

 

BTW - I need to do my will as well (almost 50) and don't forget disability insurance. That is one that you at least get some benefit from if you have to use it.

[Voltaire 4,550]

Not really, I'm counting on my cockroach DNA to give me another 40 years.

[shotsup 830]

I wore clean underwear this morning

[Filthy Fernadez 2,696]

I don't subscribe to "don't make it too good for the next guy" mentality.

 

I have .5 mill on me and .25 on the wife plus 401k and some retirement. Need to get a will done though.

[cyclone24 1,792]

Yeah I dont get the life insurance thing.

 

Cyclone, no offense but you dont even work. What are you insuring?

 

I think some of you maybe dont get the point of life insurance.

Don't even work. Okay. You realize I'm pretty much working from 6 a.m. Till 8 at night right? Trust me going somewhere to work during the day would be far easier.

 

Anyway. She does and with three little girls all 6 or under we wanted to make sure everyone is taken care of no matter what.

[Filthy Fernadez 2,696]

Don't even work. Okay. You realize I'm pretty much working from 6 a.m. Till 8 at night right? Trust me going somewhere to work during the day would be far easier.

 

Anyway. She does and with three little girls all 6 or under we wanted to make sure everyone is taken care of no matter what.

Exactly. Insure both spouses that way if a leave of absence or career change is neccessary then it's possible.

[cyclone24 1,792]

Exactly. Insure both spouses that way if a leave of absence or career change is neccessary then it's possible.

Plus it gives Dateline something to work with...

[supermike80 1,282]

I think it's kind of...make sure you enjoy life now instead of pumping a bunch of money into life insurance so your wife can live like a queen if you die. You're 50. Kids most likely close to leaving the house or already out? Are there a lot of bills left?

Debt is under control, there is a good chunk of change in my retirement account and decent savings. I remember about 8 years ago a guy I worked with died. I remember vividly people saying his wife was good financially, that he took care of her. I want the same thing or my wife. She wont have to eat ramen noodles forever if I died without it, but it is a small amount of money to give her a nice check if I happen to die.

[penultimatestraw 473]

Owner of a company I used to work for just died recently. He was in his office, talking with a couple people. said his chest hurt and BOOM...In less than 30 minutes he was dead.

 

REALLY got me thinking..I made sure my wife has all the financial information...account #'s, passwords. We are going to sit down and get a will done. at 50, I have to really think about that. Upped my life insurance as well.

 

Scary to have to think about sometimes, but hiding my head in the sand isn't a good option either.

Death is such a taboo and unpleasant topic we rarely talk about it. Good for you trying to be proactive.

 

A couple things I’d add to your preparation are an advance directive and designation of a surrogate decision maker. The latter is pretty easy if you’re married, as your spouse is the default option. Advance directives are trickier, as the verbiage chosen by lawyers is often pretty meaningless medically. Most of them say something like “if a have a terminal condition with no meaningful hope for recovery, do not extend my life by artificial means”. That sounds reasonable, but in reality just about everyone agrees with that statement, yet we rarely have a good handle on the timeline for a terminal condition and meaningful recovery is subjective.

 

What your doctors really need to know is what you would or wouldn’t want done in the event of a cardiopulmonary arrest - do want them to attempt resuscitation or not? We don’t know the outcome before we try, just general numbers about the likelihood of survival, and they ain’t great. And a fraction of survivors end up in persistent vegetative states, which just about nobody wants. But if you don’t attempt CPR etc., you’re already dead, so there is no middle ground. Interestingly, most people who work in patient care are far less aggressive about resuscitation than the lay public, because we have seen how it often ends up.

 

Planning for the period when you’re about to die is just as important as the aftermath, and even less pleasant to consider. It’s best to have the conversation with your doctor before you get hospitalized with a serious illness, as it’s the last thing you want to think about when you’re sick.

[penultimatestraw 473]

Yeah I dont get the life insurance thing.

Cyclone, no offense but you dont even work. What are you insuring?

I think some of you maybe dont get the point of life insurance.

Yeah, I think that is pretty common. No need to waste $ if your dependents are already set financially.

[cyclone24 1,792]

Ive just asked that when i die.....my remains are scattered from above down on my hometown.....

 

 

 

Not like my ashes or anything....just drop body parts from the sky.

[Mike Honcho 4,000]

I'm ready for some of you to die today.

[wiffleball 4,629]

Damn. Lucky bastard.

[IGotWorms 3,297]

Don't even work. Okay. You realize I'm pretty much working from 6 a.m. Till 8 at night right? Trust me going somewhere to work during the day would be far easier.

 

Anyway. She does and with three little girls all 6 or under we wanted to make sure everyone is taken care of no matter what.

What I meant is there is no income to replace. Thats the general point of life insurance.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

What I meant is there is no income to replace. Thats the general point of life insurance.

Actually, this is not really true. This is why even women who don't work outside of the home get life insurance policies. If that caregiver is not alive, you need money to replace what that person does (nanny, etc.).

[Kopy 489]

Outside of a will. We're in pretty decent shape. We do gotta get that done though.

[Brad GLuckman 518]

Outside of a will. We're in pretty decent shape. We do gotta get that done though.

We did ours on legal zoom for about $75, I think. About a year later my wife decided she wanted an actual lawyer to do it so we did another one.

 

I think that was $300-400.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

We did ours on legal zoom for about $75, I think. About a year later my wife decided she wanted an actual lawyer to do it so we did another one.

 

I think that was $300-400.

What was the difference in quality/completeness in the two wills? Just trying to figure out if I am going to just do it on LegalZoom or get a lawyer.

[Cdub100 3,366]

We did ours on legal zoom for about $75, I think. About a year later my wife decided she wanted an actual lawyer to do it so we did another one.

 

I think that was $300-400.

She's going to kill you

[LOD01 185]

Owner of a company I used to work for just died recently. He was in his office, talking with a couple people. said his chest hurt and BOOM...In less than 30 minutes he was dead.

 

REALLY got me thinking..I made sure my wife has all the financial information...account #'s, passwords. We are going to sit down and get a will done. at 50, I have to really think about that. Upped my life insurance as well.

 

Scary to have to think about sometimes, but hiding my head in the sand isn't a good option either.

I'm wondering what the % of people who croak like this because they haven't been to their doctor.

 

Man, I pay health insurance and I use it. I've had ever test that I can think of to make sure I get to collect SS for 20+ years. Stress test twice, MRI of brain, MRI of all vital organs. Every year I get my blood & urine tested. I'm getting my $'s worth.

[cyclone24 1,792]

She's going to kill you

And then it will turn out she was banging the lawyer the whole time.

 

 

We could all only hope to be so lucky as to have Keith Morrison from Dateline tell our story.

[LOD01 185]

BTW, genes play a huge role. Both sides of my family live into their 90s and my mom is now 91 and smoked for 70+ of those years. Dad is 92 and shot par at the golf course when he was in his 80s...from the whites.

[Strike 3,935]

 

BTW - I need to do my will as well (almost 50) and don't forget disability insurance. That is one that you at least get some benefit from if you have to use it.

 

My company has short and long term disability plans. When I was out of work for 2 months last year due to Diverticulitis, I was very thankful for them. Was nice continuing to have income despite not being able to work. Had enough to worry about at the time.

[IGotWorms 3,297]

Actually, this is not really true. This is why even women who don't work outside of the home get life insurance policies. If that caregiver is not alive, you need money to replace what that person does (nanny, etc.).

Meh, its close enough to true. I mean if you want a 100% replacement thats fine. Youre probably paying too much but for some the peace of mind is worth it. But generally you need the breadwinners insured so the other spouse can have the basics provided for and get back on their feet. Beyond that, again youre probably way overinsured

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

 

My company has short and long term disability plans. When I was out of work for 2 months last year due to Diverticulitis, I was very thankful for them. Was nice continuing to have income despite not being able to work. Had enough to worry about at the time.

 

Presumably, your company's disability plan is going to cover you up to 60% of your salary. If you have an extended or permanent disability, that might not be enough, so there are additional disability options out there.

 

 

Meh, its close enough to true. I mean if you want a 100% replacement thats fine. Youre probably paying too much but for some the peace of mind is worth it. But generally you need the breadwinners insured so the other spouse can have the basics provided for and get back on their feet. Beyond that, again youre probably way overinsured

 

Think about it. You have a couple of small kids at home and you decide to have your wife be a stay-at-home mom for a while. She has an aneurysm and croaks. Now, you have no chance of that 2nd income coming in the door to help pay for college (unless you remarry) and your career may be affected. I am not saying that you have her worth millions, but term life insurance for young and healthy adults is not that much. Hopefully, you never need it, but you might.

 

BTW - I am not a big insurance fan, but it is a necessary evil IMO.

[IGotWorms 3,297]

 

Presumably, your company's disability plan is going to cover you up to 60% of your salary. If you have an extended or permanent disability, that might not be enough, so there are additional disability options out there.

 

 

 

Think about it. You have a couple of small kids at home and you decide to have your wife be a stay-at-home mom for a while. She has an aneurysm and croaks. Now, you have no chance of that 2nd income coming in the door to help pay for college (unless you remarry) and your career may be affected. I am not saying that you have her worth millions, but term life insurance for young and healthy adults is not that much. Hopefully, you never need it, but you might.

 

BTW - I am not a big insurance fan, but it is a necessary evil IMO.

Sure but thats insuring for every possible contingency. At the end of the day you and your kids will have a roof over your head and food on the table. Maybe itll be tough paying daycare expenses for a few years but if thats the worst thing that happens from the premature death of a spouse Id say youre coming out okay

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

Sure but thats insuring for every possible contingency. At the end of the day you and your kids will have a roof over your head and food on the table. Maybe itll be tough paying daycare expenses for a few years but if thats the worst thing that happens from the premature death of a spouse Id say youre coming out okay

 

So, don't plan for it? It really isn't that difficult to get a policy and the price is not that much.

[Thornton Melon 542]

 

So, don't plan for it? It really isn't that difficult to get a policy and the price is not that much.

 

 

Yeah. I got a 125K policy on the wife when the kids were little, basically just to pay off the mortgage if anything happened to her. I dropped it down to 100K as the mortgage dropped and the kids got older. I could probably drop it more now, or even get rid of it. But yeah, I don't think the premiums were ever more than 20 bucks a month.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

 

 

Yeah. I got a 125K policy on the wife when the kids were little, basically just to pay off the mortgage if anything happened to her. I dropped it down to 100K as the mortgage dropped and the kids got older. I could probably drop it more now, or even get rid of it. But yeah, I don't think the premiums were ever more than 20 bucks a month.

 

That was pretty much what I did. I did not want to be sitting there holding the bag if I had to do all the work on my own and the money was there to pay for some help if needed. Now, things are winding down as my kids are in HS, so I think that we will just ride out this term and not get another one. If she goes after that period, then her 401k should be good enough for me and my new girlfriend to have a vacation.

[Alias Detective 1,177]

If any of you had a clue you would realize how efficient and important life insurance is. A lot of stupid being discussed. If anyone wants real answers feel free to pm me.

[SenatorRock 708]

Purposes of life insurance (in order of importance/urgency):

 

1. Pay funeral/burial expenses

2. Pay off debts (mortgage, cars, credit cards, loans)

3. College funded for kids

4. Stay at home grieving/job hunt fund of 6-12 mo for survivor

5. Tax avoidance, if you have business, investments, or property that needs to be passed down without a tax burden

6. Leave a legacy, if you want to be remembered as a big baller by your great grandkids or the local charities

7. Pay for your wife to hit the gym, buy a new wardrobe, take fancy vacations, etc all in search of new and daddy #2.

 

 

The reality is that if your wife is thin and moderately attractive she will be remarried within 5 years, likely dating within 2 years. You do not need to "set her up for life" unless she is obese and not a catch. This may sound harsh. But the other 6 things listed above are far more important reasons to take out extra life insurance.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

My wife asked me a long time ago if I would date again if she died. I told her that I would have a date for the wake.

[LOD01 185]

My wife asked me a long time ago if I would date again if she died. I told her that I would have a date for the wake.

[cyclone24 1,792]

My wife asked me a long time ago if I would date again if she died. I told her that I would have a date for the wake.

That's beautiful.

 

We all grieve in different ways. I grieve with poosy.