Get Your Affairs In Order!

JoAnn Rooney

Two years ago, I helped a lovely young couple purchase their first home. Shortly thereafter, the wife quit her job since they were expecting their first baby. Less than a year later the husband passed away unexpectedly. His life insurance policy through his employer was soon gone after the burial expenses were paid. This young man left his wife and child unprotected and with nothing left to help pay for their mortgage and monthly bills. This family lost not only a father and a husband but they also lost the family bread winner.

This is a very important reminder to my clients to look at your life insurance and make sure you not only have coverage, but the right coverage. Many of my first time homebuyers are young which means your insurance will be less expensive at that time in your lives. We all need a trusted advisor to talk to about insurance to help us decide just how much and what kind of insurance we need. You should also have a will in place so that you can spell out your wishes if something happens to you.

When my husband and I were young and planning our first vacation without our children, we started to ask each other what would happen to our two children if we didn’t make it home? This led to a very spirited argument about which family member would raise the kids and how we could secure their future in the event something happened to us. We immediately asked some friends and family members about finding a trusted financial planner we could talk with about insurance and financial security. While on our way to our initial appoinment, I remember thinking this experience is going to be painful as well as painfully expensive. Neither was true. We left two hours later and ever since that day we both feel very secure knowing we are in good hands and have done everything we could do to prepare ourselves should anything catastrophic ever befall our family.

With our wills drawn up and insurance in place (disability and long term care as well), we were comfortable knowing that we would never be a burden to our kids and all of us were protected should anything ever happen. How many times have you heard someone say what wishes they want carried out are after they pass away? Put your wishes in writing! Get your affairs in order no matter what your age!

Getting on that plane and heading to Cancun, knowing we had gotten our affairs in order, made for a great start to our vacation. Over the years, we have watched our children grow up and leave the nest. We have tweaked our insurance policies since then but since that day, we are both comfortable knowing that we had a plan in place to take care of each other as well as our family.

Don’t put off taking care of your family another day and if you need a referral to a trusted financial planner or someone to draw up a simple will, please call or email me any time!

Call JoAnn Rooney today 727-787-2299 X 1
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