Insuring Family Members for Generations

Non-working spouses may be the most underserved financial partner of a family unit. But valuing a non-working spouse can be economically advantageous. As an example, a non-working spouse can contribute to an IRA without reportable income. That means non-working spouses under age 50 can contribute $5,500, (over age 50 -$6,500). If the effective tax bracket is 25%, you saved $1,625 with no corresponding income.

But how do you put a price tag on a stay-at-home, non-earning spouse. If that spouse is running the home, raising the children and participating in the community, how do you value that? Consider if that non-working spouse were no longer alive. How would the surviving spouse cope with all the functions that were performed by their deceased partner? Child and home care alone could run up a very pricey tab. Life insurance is the most economical solution for maintaining the lifestyle of the household.

What about insuring children and grandchildren? Most people don’t want to profit from the death of a loved one, especially a child or a grandchild. But nevertheless life happens, and sometimes life happens to you. But having life insurance on children isn’t for the low odds of such a dreadful scenario. It can be a living scenario like funding a child’s education or using it as a conservative alternative to bond holdings by using the child as the policy insured in a cash value life insurance policy. It can also start a child off on the right financial footing by securing coverage while the child is healthy. Keep in mind that cash value life insurance designed as a non-modified endowment contract can generate tax-free policy loans as long as the contract is kept in force. Why go to the bank when you can be the bank. That’s the purchasing power and self-reliance that children and grandchildren can learn at an early age.