If you need a list of reasons to get life insurance, here are a few to get you started. Life insurance is one of those things that few people could fail to benefit from. It offers peace of mind to the policy holder and financial support to its beneficiaries.
The most obvious part of life insurance is that in the event of your death, it will help to provide for your family. It works as simply as this: because you have been paying your monthy premiums, the company that holds your insurance policy will agree to pay a specified lump sum of cash to the benificiary listed on your policy (this is the person or people you designate to receive the death benefits).
It is important to remember that with this policy, no restrictions are placed up your beneficiaries as to how they utilize the money. Your beneficiaries can decide if it will be used to alleviate debt, purchase their home, or even attend college. The amount they receive will vary depending upon the type and coverage you purchase.
In some instances, the benefit may be used to pay off money you owe. Some people may choose to link their largest debts to a decreasing term insurance policy due to the magnitude of their debts. For instance, a decreasing term policy covering a home debt will charge lower premiums as the the home loan is paid off. The insurance company will pay the remaining amount to the bank should death occurs before the loan has been fully paid.
If you would like your insurance death benefit to pay more than just enough to settle outstanding deaths, whole life insurance may be a viable option. Here, premium payments are made in the course of your life. Plans are available where you to pay a level amount throughout, or pay higher premiums at the start of the policy. Depending on the plan, payments cease stop at age 60, 65 or 85 but coverage will still continue. In the event of your death, the insurance company will pay out a benefit to your chosen beneficiaries. The benefit does not depend on how long you have actually held the policy.
If you are HIV-positive, South Africa is one of only two countries that offer life insurance cover for people with HIV/AIDS. Your premiums may be somewhat higher, and your insurance provider will require you to maintain antiretroviral treatment.
Make sure that you deal with reputable and dependable companies that are known to honor their payout agreements. Most experts recommend checking with more than four companies to find out about the different options and plans in the market.
Bear in mind that a life insurance policy may be the only protection your family has from financial hardship in the event if an unexpected death. The peace of mind coming from the knowledge that your family will be provided for more than offsets any inconvenience you may experience now.
Tom Martens is the syndication coordinator at lifeinsurance-southafrica.co.za. South Arica’s leading Life Insurance portal
I teach Estate Planning and Administration from an attorney/paralegal perspective at Shepherd Univerity to a classroom comprised mostly of seniors. That is senior, young and getting ready graduate and start their journey to retirement and asset protection. I think they are finally starting to get it as I take every opportunity to make the concepts applicable to them as well as their families. I had a representative from Hospice of the Eastern Panhandle in Martinsburg, WV, emphasize, in the absense of assets, that living wills and advanced directives are useful, even for “invincible” young adults. It’s one of the easiest, and free things that they can do for themselves.
I ran across this article from Wealth Junkie$. Though brief, I thought it was appropo. The following is the rest of the article:
Estate Planning: It’s For Young People, Too
“Estate planning sounds like something that should only concern senior citizens. After all, it’s a system of making sure that your assets wind up in the hands of your beneficiaries as quickly and easily as possible. And who has an estate these days? The word implies plenty of wealth.
But the fact of the matter is that estate planning is just as important to the young and the less-than-wealthy as anyone else. For one thing, estate planning these days can include the documents that state how you want your medical and financial affairs handled if you’re incapacitated. For another thing, estate planning is just as useful as an insurance policy: it gives you a way to make sure that your family is taken care of in a worst case scenario.”
Tags: advanced directive, asset protection, attorney /paralegal, Estate Planning, financial, incapacitated, insurance policy, living will, martinsburg, Martinsburg West Virginia, medical, premier guaranty, senior citizen, Shepherd university, United States, west virginia, West Virginia United States
By Bernard Krooks
When confronted with a tighter budget or uncertain economic future, many people instinctually cut back on everything they can to compensate for potential losses. This is not entirely a bad thing, since excessive debt and lack of planning both help to contribute to deeper financial troubles. But redoing a budget to compensate for changing economic circumstances calls for enhanced planning, not putting planning off for another day.
Estate planning is often thought about in terms of numbers, property, assets and finances. While estate planning does involve all of these things, the primary focus of a good estate plan is the people who will benefit from it from your efforts and legacy. Estate planning is about maximizing the benefits of your work while you are alive and providing for family and loved ones after your death.
Keeping in mind the real importance of estate planning will help individuals stick to their plans or give them the push they need to start planning through even the tightest of economic times. Estate planning is easier than most people think, and will create peace of mind that is well worth the investment.
In addition to helping you organize your finances and assets in the short term, estate planning during tough economic times has obvious long-term benefits as well. Continuing to plan and make contributions to trusts, life insurance policies, retirement and other accounts will minimize the overall damage that could be done to your estate in the long term. Failure to plan during an economic downturn can actually serve to unnecessarily multiply the effect of the financial hardship many times over.
Estate planning is important to individuals and their families, and it is even more important in a down economy. Consulting with an attorney and sticking to an estate plan will provide peace of mind in the present and maximize benefits in the future.
Bernard Krooks is a [http://www.littmankrooks.com/]New York Elder Law and [http://www.littmankrooks.com/]New York Estate Planning lawyer with offices in White Plains, Fishkill, and New York, New York. To learn more, visit Littmankrooks.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bernard_Krooks http://EzineArticles.com/?Estate-Planning-is-Especially-Important-During-Tough-Economic-Times&id=1930828
