I'm retired,divorced woman, w/$150,000 assets.Is life ins $100,000 good idea to get now to leave to 3 kids

Question

I am in fairly good health. A 20 yr policy will cost me $99 mo
Is there a better, safe way to invest my money so that I leave a small sum for each of my kids. They all would benefit from an inheritance as they are not well-off.

Answer 1

Well, let's run the numbers.

If you invested the $99 a month, for 20 years, at a very modest 8%, you'd have $59,189 at the end of that, which makes $100,000 seem pretty good. If you use the average that the market has done, 12%, you have $99,994. A break even.

So, clearly the insurance company thinks you're going to live considerably longer than 20 years. If you die in year 21, with the policy, your kids will get NOTHING. But if you do the investment thing, in 25 years you'll have almost $190,000, that you can leave to your kids, OR spend.

You need to look at how long the women in your family live. Me, well, women in OUR family usually live to the late 90's. My grandmother is still doing pretty good at 96. I'd go for saving/investing, myself, ONCE MY KIDS ARE GROWN. So I have a 20 year term policy, and after they're out of the house, they'll have my savings/assets when I kick off.

Answer 2

$150,000 in assets and $100,000 in life insurance, but you don't say how old your kids are or what kind of lifestyle you want to leave them should you die. If they are very young and they are used to a nice lifestyle, $250,000 will not last them very long. At $50,000 a year it will be gone in 5 years. Are they all older than 13? Maybe you should consider more insurance.

Answer 3

Get a life insurance or universal life plan.
It's really difficult to determine when a person will die, with the increasing longevity.
If you do have a lump sum to invest you can put the money in bonds.
I dunno your age, but I would say that it's not cheap for older people to start buying insurance. If you can afford it then get life, if not then invest in safe instruments.

Answer 4

If you can afford it, the insurance will provide them with some ready cash if you should die. As long as they are designated as policy beneficiaries, the insurance proceeds do not become part of your estate and are not subject to taxes. Of course, should you outlive the policy term, the coverage lapses.

Answer 5

Yes, you should have life insurance no matter what!!!! Check with your job and see if you can get it for cheaper. Duh, that was dumb of me. You said you were retired. If you can afford it, get it!