Life Insurance for Married couples?

[Heidi]

I just recently got married and was wondering if my husband and I should invest in life insurance together or term insurance. We don't have kids and don't plan on it for a few years. Also is it true that whatever debt he was in (student loans) before we were married would be my responsibility now that we are married if he should pass?

[dczech09]

Go with the term life insurance and get this in force. This will help cover any liabilities that pass to another if anything unfortunate happens. Also you will have this in force for when you do have children. It is always best to get life insurance earlier on as it will be cheaper and you are not risking becoming uninsurable due to disease. Talk to an agent about getting TERM life insurance with the Guaranteed Insurability Rider.

Do not let any life insurance agent talk you into whole life insurance. Whole life is garbage and term will get you more coverage for less money. Lets say you have $100 per month for life insurance. You could buy term life for $10 to $20 (approximately) per month and invest the difference.

I am not a registered financial advisor, however I do have knowledge and professional pedigrees regarding life insurance. This is my opinion, so please consult a trusted financial advisor for more details. By trusted financial advisor, I mean one that is looking out for your best interests and will not try to sell you garbage. Good luck!

[TheStreetCeo]

Life insurance is very important and definatley something you need to have. I agree somewhat with dczech09 regarding getting term insurance right now however i do think there is a need for permanent life insurance for the future. Let me explain why.

1. Term insurance is for a specific term and is cheap because of that factor. If you plan on having kids in the next three years as you said you may want to look into getting a 25 year term policy to cover the "term" where your kids are dependant on you. You can usually get a large amount for very cheap. I have a 1 million dollar 30 year policy and only pay 62.00 per month. I'm covered until my kids are 25-29 years old and if I die they get a large some along with my wife who doesn't work outside of the home. After my kids are on their own, there isn't a need for a large policy in my opinion and I suspect this may be dczech09 thoughts as well (correct me if I'm wrong).

2. I believe there is a need for permanant life insurance that has a cash value along with it. I don't think it's much at all, 25-50k to cover expenses when you die would probably be enough depending on your financial situation and debts. If you get it young enough it will be worth it in my opinion.
I have three children and purchased 75k permanent life insurance for each of my children when they were born. They have cash value and the premiums will never go up. I pay 10.62 for each policy per month. When they get older they can continue to fund the policy each month or they can let the cash value pay the premiums themselves and when they die their family will have a minimum of 75k. I think thats worth it. Does anyone else have an opinion on this? When I sold insurance some parents thought it was a death sentence at a young age to buy insurance for there kids and some thought it was the greatest idea they ever heard and one way to help their children in the future without having to spend a lot of money.

[jIM_Ohio]

I just recently got married and was wondering if my husband and I should invest in life insurance together or term insurance. We don't have kids and don't plan on it for a few years. Also is it true that whatever debt he was in (student loans) before we were married would be my responsibility now that we are married if he should pass?

You need to insure based on your risks. Everyone's risks are different and unique to them, here are some brainstorms as to what to consider:

Label spouses A and B then answer these questions:

1) Does spouse A depend on the income for spouse B?
2) Does spouse B depend on income for spouse A?

examples- if one spouse stays at home, there is bigger risk if the working spouse dies first. If both spouses work, but one makes significantly more money than the other, this risk still exists.

3) Does the marriage have debt? Mortgage, student loans, cars, credit cards? Which of those debts is the other spouse legally liable for?

4) Burial expenses- does either spouse have a religion with expensive ceremonies?

5) Does the risk of which spouse dies change with time?

Example- one spouse might make partner, or one spouse might have a disease which complicates later in life and they are dependent on other spouse for their care?

6) in retirement, will one spouse collect off the social security or pension of the other spouse?

example If one spouse only retirement plan is a pension and social security, and the pension does not transfer on death to other spouse, this is a huge risk for the spouse not covered by the pension.


Use those to think about your situation, and decide how many of those apply to you, and what other issues are unique to your situation.

[snafu]

It's important to understand the specific terms and conditions of DH's student loan to know if you have any liability. Do either you or DH have life insurance as part of employment benefits? I suggest you talk to agents representing different lg. companies about insurance products. [Some insurance companies get swallowed by gia-normous agencies which can cause temporary confusion]. We worked out the difference between Term and Whole life premiums; bought Term, put in place an automatic funds transfer for the difference.

That started our investment program called DCA [dollar cost averaging] which any Investment Counsellor can explain better than I. We have increased our investment plan contribution with every pay increase or x-tra income, whatever the source [bonus, gift, short term P/T work, tax rebate etc.] It helps to be mindful of all spending after non discretionary expenses.

[moneycoach]

Do the term insurance only! 'Permanent' (i.e. whole life and universal life) are some of the worst investment products on the market. Term life is extremely cheap, and then you can invest the rest of the money you would have used for permanent life insurance premiums in mutual funds, retirement, etc. and come out WAY ahead.

Research before you buy any life insurance. Do not purchase anything you do not completely understand!

[Seeker]

I just recently got married and was wondering if my husband and I should invest in life insurance together or term insurance. We don't have kids and don't plan on it for a few years. Also is it true that whatever debt he was in (student loans) before we were married would be my responsibility now that we are married if he should pass?

If these are Federal student loans, than the only person responsible for paying off that loan, would be the person who rec'd that education.

[jpg7n16]

If these are Federal student loans, than the only person responsible for paying off that loan, would be the person who rec'd that education.

What Seeker says is true, buttttttt....

How that works is that your husband's estate has to satisfy any debts outstanding against it as much as it can. Someone would have to calculate the value of his estate by adding up all his assets (bank accounts, retirement accounts, cars, house, etc.) and deducting out any debts (credit cards, student loans, etc.) What he owns, stands for what he owes.

So if you two own a bank account, car and house together - all of those are assets that must be used to satisfy any debts he has. That could mean that if his portion of the bank account doesn't have enough cash to pay off the debts, you could be forced into selling "your" car or house to generate the cash to pay off any debts of his that you can.

So although you aren't technically responsible for his student loans (should he pass), your joint bank account (and house) will be responsible. And that could lead to a very unpleasant surprise or two.


Or you could get some life insurance, and should he pass - the death benefit will provide you with more than enough cash to have to worry about selling any assets.

(If his assets aren't enough to cover all the debts, you are not responsible for the difference)

[jIM_Ohio]

What Seeker says is true, buttttttt....

How that works is that your husband's estate has to satisfy any debts outstanding against it as much as it can. Someone would have to calculate the value of his estate by adding up all his assets (bank accounts, retirement accounts, cars, house, etc.) and deducting out any debts (credit cards, student loans, etc.) What he owns, stands for what he owes.

So if you two own a bank account, car and house together - all of those are assets that must be used to satisfy any debts he has. That could mean that if his portion of the bank account doesn't have enough cash to pay off the debts, you could be forced into selling "your" car or house to generate the cash to pay off any debts of his that you can.

So although you aren't technically responsible for his student loans (should he pass), your joint bank account (and house) will be responsible. And that could lead to a very unpleasant surprise or two.


Or you could get some life insurance, and should he pass - the death benefit will provide you with more than enough cash to have to worry about selling any assets.

(If his assets aren't enough to cover all the debts, you are not responsible for the difference)

excellent explanation

[TheStreetCeo]

Do the term insurance only! 'Permanent' (i.e. whole life and universal life) are some of the worst investment products on the market.

They are not investment products and they are not on any market. Perhaps before you post you should do some research so you understand what you're talking about.

Sorry for being so harsh. It's o.k. to have an opinion but make it an informed one.

[Seeker]

What Seeker says is true, buttttttt....

How that works is that your husband's estate has to satisfy any debts outstanding against it as much as it can. Someone would have to calculate the value of his estate by adding up all his assets (bank accounts, retirement accounts, cars, house, etc.) and deducting out any debts (credit cards, student loans, etc.) What he owns, stands for what he owes.

So if you two own a bank account, car and house together - all of those are assets that must be used to satisfy any debts he has. That could mean that if his portion of the bank account doesn't have enough cash to pay off the debts, you could be forced into selling "your" car or house to generate the cash to pay off any debts of his that you can.

So although you aren't technically responsible for his student loans (should he pass), your joint bank account (and house) will be responsible. And that could lead to a very unpleasant surprise or two.


Or you could get some life insurance, and should he pass - the death benefit will provide you with more than enough cash to have to worry about selling any assets.

(If his assets aren't enough to cover all the debts, you are not responsible for the difference)

I speak of Federal student loans....

Loan Cancellation Discharge

[jpg7n16]

I speak of Federal student loans....

Loan Cancellation Discharge

Oh interesting. Didn't know that.

I would say "cool" but the only way to benefit from that is to die, sooo....