life insurance beneficiaries Archives

Do I Need Life Insurance if I Don’t Have Dependents?

If you’re single and have no children, you’re not alone in thinking that life insurance is not a necessity for you. But even if you don’t have anyone who financially depends on you. There are a lot of reasons why life insurance is important. Not only do situations change over time, but if you wait until you’re older to purchase a life insurance policy, it will cost more than it would if you were to purchase one right now!

Why You Need Life Insurance Even if You Don’t Have Dependents

You Might Have Dependents One day

Life is full of unknowns, including where your future will take you. Just because you don’t have any dependents now doesn’t mean you won’t later on in life. If you meet that special someone, and get married and decide to have children later in life, you will need to consider a life insurance policy. When it comes to life insurance, it’s generally best to think about the future, rather than your present situation.

You Want to Help with Your Funeral Expenses

Even though you might not have any dependents, someone in your family is going to have to be financially responsible for your death. On average, a funeral can cause around $15,000. Which is a lot of money to expect your family to take on in the event of your passing. Having a life insurance policy, even if it’s a basic one such as a final expense life insurance policy, can ensure that these expenses are covered. So no one in your family has to be financially burdened with the costs.

You’re a Family Member’s Caretaker, or Might Become One

As parents or grandparents age and potentially become ill, one of their children/grandchildren will often take on the responsibility of taking care of them. This can include cleaning the house, cooking, helping pay bills, and doing any number of household chores. If you are or might end up in this situation, and something were to happen to you, everything that you did for your parents would have to be done by a nurse. Which could cost your family money they might not have. Having a life insurance policy would provide your family members with enough money to get the care that they need.

You Have Other Potential Beneficiaries

Just because you don’t have any dependents, doesn’t mean that you don’t have possible beneficiaries. It could be anyone in your life that could benefit from a life insurance payout. Like your parents, siblings, or anyone else you choose to leave money to.

Finding the Right Plan

A life insurance policy is the right choice for everyone, no matter if you have dependents or not! But if you’re not sure which policy is best for you, your best bet is to compare policies from different companies. There are many great affordable life insurance options to choose from that will provide enough money for your beneficiaries, for a low monthly price. The best way to find the right life insurance policy for you and your specific needs is by working with an agent who specializes in life insurance.

We have provided the top life insurance companies in the nation below; each offers hassle-free assistance and the most competitive rates. Always check multiple sites to make sure you have bargaining power and know the advantages of each company. Make sure a hard time isn’t made harder by a financial burden, check life insurance rates today.

How To Choose a Life Insurance Beneficiary

If you’re searching for a life insurance policy, you probably have a checklist of what you want in a policy, such as affordability and adequate coverage. But have you thought about who you will name as your beneficiary or beneficiaries? You want to make sure that you designate the right person/people as your beneficiaries so that your final wishes are honored. So how should you go about choosing a beneficiary?

Choosing A Beneficiary

When choosing your beneficiary, you should be aware of some special considerations in the case of certain kinds of beneficiaries:

Underage beneficiaries– If you have children, you might want to name them as beneficiaries of your life insurance policy. But you need to be aware that if they are not of age to receive the death benefits, you will have to set up a trust or appoint a guardian to control the money until they are of age.
Unreliable beneficiaries- If the person that you would like to name as beneficiary is not responsible with money, you might want to consider putting the money into a trust or appointing someone else to manage it. In this case, you can provide instructions for how the money should be given out.
Secondary beneficiaries– Sometimes it’s good to have a second beneficiary listed in case something happens to your first beneficiary: for example, if they pass away before you and you don’t get a chance to update your policy. The secondary beneficiary will be listed as a contingent beneficiary, and will receive the money if the primary beneficiary is unable to.
No beneficiaries– If you feel like you don’t want to leave any money behind to anyone, but you have a policy and don’t want it to go to waste, you do have the option of choosing no beneficiary. You can put all the money into a trust, pay off debts, or leave it to a charity of your choice.

When you choose a beneficiary, make sure that you have all the necessary information listed on your policy, such as their name, their relationship to you, and how your insurance company can reach them. In addition, make sure that you notify your beneficiary so that they are aware of your policy; you should also be sure to leave them a copy of any documents they need for when the time comes to claim the death benefits. This will make the process go more smoothly for them at a difficult time.

Your family has financial obligations that will not go away when you are gone; they will need your help more than ever with expenses. Not only will they have to pay for your funeral expenses, but they will have bills to stay on top of without your help, debts, and more. The last thing you want them to worry about is money while they are grieving. There are many great affordable life insurance options to choose from that will provide enough financial security for your family, for a low monthly price. The best way to find the right life insurance policy for you and your specific needs is by working with an agent who specializes in life insurance. We have provided the top life insurance companies in the nation below; each offers hassle-free assistance and the most competitive rates. Always check multiple sites to make sure you have bargaining power and know the advantages of each company. Make sure a hard time isn’t made harder by a financial burden, check life insurance rates today.

Assigning Minors As Your Beneficiaries? Here’s What You Need To Know

Your children or grandchildren are your entire world, and we know you want to be there for them and provide for them as long as you possibly can. One of the many ways you can do this is by purchasing a life insurance policy and listing them as the beneficiaries, so you know the money will go to them and they will be taken care of in your absence. Making minors beneficiaries is very common and not a problem, but there are a few things that you should be aware of when doing so. Knowing the following will help you protect your children or grandchildren financially in the event of your death.

Rules Regarding Minors

If you are going to make a minor the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, it is important to know the rules surrounding them receiving your death benefit. These rules can be specific to the state you live in, but generally:

Most states require that a guardian is in charge to administer the money to the minor if the minor is not 18 by the time of your passing.
If you fail to name a guardian in charge, your next of kin will have to appoint a guardian.
The guardian will be in control of the money for the minor’s benefit until they reach the age of majority, or 18, depending on the state.

As you can see, it is very important that you appoint someone to be in charge of the money until your minor beneficiary is old enough to receive it themselves. Make sure you don’t skip this step: you want to choose the right guardian so you can ensure the guardian will do the right things for the children, and not use the money for their personal use.

What You Can Do

To ensure that your death benefit goes to your children or grandchildren as you intend, and that it does not end up in the wrong hands, put a competent adult in charge of the benefit. If you don’t, the court will appoint one for you, and you will not be able to control what happens to the money.

You should:

Name your children as beneficiaries, but have an adult custodian under your state’s Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA). You will need to fill out a form for this, if your state allows it.
Make sure this custodian is someone you know will use the money for the minor’s benefits. You should also be sure they will take care of your children or grandchildren until they’re old enough to receive all the money that is left.
Make a will that creates a trust, and name your children as beneficiaries of any proceeds the trust receives from your life insurance policy.

Need Help?

If you want to make sure that your children, grandchildren, or other minors are taken care of when you are gone, you need to find the right policy for you AND know the rules surrounding minor beneficiaries. The best way to do this is to work with a licensed agent who knows the rules and regulations regarding listing minors as beneficiaries in your state. We have provided the top life insurance companies in the nation below; each offers hassle-free assistance and the most competitive rates. Always check multiple sites to make sure you have bargaining power and know the advantages of each company. Make sure a hard time isn’t made harder by a financial burden, check life insurance rates today.

Choosing Life Insurance Beneficiaries

When you make the wise choice to purchase a life insurance policy, you have a lot of decisions to make. First, you have to decide if you want term life, whole life, final expense life, or another type of life insurance policy. Then, you need to decide how much coverage is needed to provide full financial protection for your family. After you have researched companies, found quotes and picked a policy, your next important step is to pick a life insurance beneficiary. This is the person who will receive the money in the event of your death. It sounds simple enough, but there are some details to be aware of before making the choice.

Know Your Options

a caucasian woman and afircan american man holding a baby — *You have different options when choosing a beneficiary; you can choose your spouse, or children, or a business.*

A beneficiary can be one person, multiple people, your estate, a charity, a business, or a trust. If the beneficiary is an individual, you can choose a relative, child, spouse, friend or anyone else. However, if you live in a common property state, also called community property states, life insurance beneficiary rules will require your spouse to waive their rights if you want to designate someone else as beneficiary. There are 9 common property states: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

If you choose to make your beneficiary a trust, that trust will manage the dispersal of the money; for example, you could arrange it so a trust manager would be in charge of paying for your children’s needs as instructed by you.

Legally making your estate your beneficiary is generally not recommended because, in this case, creditors would be able to go after your life insurance money. Once the creditors, court fees and lawyer are paid from the estate (however much that dips into your loved ones’ life insurance money), whatever is left will be divided among your beneficiaries.

Choosing A Beneficiary

When choosing who to name as your beneficiary, you should ask yourself who relies on you financially and will need help paying ongoing bills when you are gone. Would you like to leave some of the insurance money to charity? Do you want your business to continue? If so, you can make your business partner a beneficiary.

When you do choose who you want the money to go to, you will need to be as specific as you can and put everything in writing, including their Social Security numbers if possible, relationship to you, dates of birth and addresses. You can change, add or remove beneficiaries at any time.

Multiple Beneficiaries

pie chart with different colors for each piece — *If you choose to have multiple beneficiaries, the amount divided will have to equal 100%.*

If you want to give a payout to multiple beneficiaries, check your life insurance policy first. Some will have a limit on how many you can have. If you do decide to have multiple beneficiaries, you can also choose how much each beneficiary will receive. For example, your spouse can get 50% of the benefits, and the remaining 50% can go to your child. If you don’t specify how much you want each person to get, they will all receive an equal amount.

Primary vs. Contingent

You also have the option of naming both a primary and contingent beneficiary. Your primary beneficiary will be first on the list to receive the benefits after your passing. If your primary beneficiary dies before you, refuses the proceeds, or can’t be located, the contingent life insurance beneficiary will receive the benefits.

Naming Children As Your Beneficiaries

If you have minor children, they will not receive any of the money until they are 18. To make sure they can have access to it, you can:

Name their legal guardian as beneficiary.
Designate a custodian for the proceeds through the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. This person is then named as the beneficiary.
Create a trust for the child and make the trust your beneficiary. The trustee will oversee the money and distribute it as per your wishes.

What Happens If You Don’t Designate A Beneficiary?

If you do not name a beneficiary for your life insurance policy, the insurance company will issue the death benefit to your estate. The probate court will then decide how to distribute the funds, which will include settling your debts, which will mean less money for your loved ones.

Taking the time to make sure loved ones are protected with a life insurance policy is admirable. But in order to make sure that the proceeds go where you want them to, you have to choose the right beneficiary or beneficiaries. When choosing a life insurance company, ask about their beneficiary rules to make sure that the plan will meet your needs. To get more helpful information about different types of life insurance policies, and how you can get coverage that fits your budget, take a look below. We have provided information for top-rated insurance companies that specialize in life insurance, so check their rates today and see just how simple and affordable it is to protect your family. Always check multiple sites to make sure you have bargaining power and to know the advantages of each company. Make sure a hard time for your loved ones isn’t made harder by a financial burden, check life insurance rates today.