Life Insurance. I Have None. Do You?

Pete - get a 20 or 25-year term policy.
Make sure its for $1-2 million. That's not a typo. If you die you want to make sure your wife doesn't have to work, that she can stay home and take care of the kids. Or if she does work that child care is taken care of. You want to make sure there's a nice chunk of change there to pay for the kid's college tuition. You need to make sure that your wife and child are taken care of in the event that you die and not have to worry about making ends meet on a smaller policy.
I turn 40 later this year, I'm married with one child, and my financial planner recommended I get a $2 million term policy for all of the above reasons.
Also, make sure its with a company that has a solid track record of being around a long time and paying its claims.
For the policy, set up some trusts and make the trusts the beneficiaries. For instance set up two irrevocable trust: one that states your wife can only withdraw a certain amount of money each year to pay reasonable living expenses for herself and your child (if the child is under 18 or 21 or whatever age you pick) and a second for your child where its stipulated that prior to 21 the kid can only touch it to pay for college tuition (and if you choose books, dorm & meals, etc.) and after graduation its limited to a certain amount each year.

For the will definitely get one and consult with a lawyer for the best way to handle things given your living situation. Make sure your wife gets one too. Your child will be the most important thing in the wills. The will is only way to designate who gets custody of your child should the unthinkable happens and you both while the child is still a child or a teenager.

 

I can't imagine not running around without some insurance if at all possible.

Then again, I'm single, I have double my annual salary if something should happen to me. Combine that with a little savings, a car, and some sports memorabilia and my parents shouldn't have any issues with financial arrangements. :

Seriously, though, if I had family, life insurance would be high up on my priorities. But I'll argue that even if you're single, at least have enough taken care of not to be a burden to anyone.

 

Yep... I'll dig wherever I have to if it happens.

 

What's the fucking nut on a $2 million policy... even if you are in Michael Phelps shape?

 

I'm paying $100 a month for a policy that pays $150,000 on either of us from Allstate.

 

txsportsscribe is right in that, if you're single, you really need just enough to cover the funeral expenses and all..but in your case, being married with children, i'd go with the term insurance..and shop around and study things because those insurance salesmen will deliver a bill of goods you may regret later on. make sure of what you're reading in the fine print and everyelse else.

 

I'll be honest, I was thinking a $750,000 policy and wondered about a million. But I cringe to think what a million will cost me each month.

 

my question is why cash value? I've listed what is, I believe, a bad idea on it - what are your/your friend's reasons?

 

Another reason I have told my wife no funeral, cremate me, done.
Seems silly to spend all that on me to get rid of me, as it were.

 

mine, as I said, is $40 a month for a 20-year term, good for 300k.

 

Completely unrelated, but I've been meaning to tell you ... if you need another hand in free babysitting, I do live in your city now. But a maximum of one diaper change per hour.

 

Pete,

Get 30-year term insurance with "return of premium" on it. Go 10x your salary. Try to find simplified underwriting. Takes you retirement age and you get back everything you paid in. If you reach 63, get a final expenses one. Don't leave your legacy through a life insurance policy, IMO.

Then get a universal life insurance policy for your kid RIGHT NOW. Like, tomorrow. Make it an equity-indexed universal life policy, if you can, and overfund the shit out of it, right up to the point just before it becomes a modified endowment contract, or MEC. Because the market stinks, initially have the cash value of the EIUL tied to a fixed interest bucket. Then switch it over after a couple years.