OT: life insurance

[Scorpio6]

following this thread

[adawn]

FWIW, funeral expenses for my father weren't too bad. He wanted to be cremated using the cheapest cremation service possible and no urn, just ashes in a cardboard box. (My mom wants the same.) So cremation was approx $1500 if I recall correctly. Funeral/Memorial service at their Unitarian church was free but my mom opted to give money to the guest soloist (not a regular member of the congregation) whose presence she requested to sing a particular song and she also donated money to the pastor's fund and to the choir director's fund. My sister paid for two floral arrangements in large pots we left at the church (they weren't very flowery; they sort of looked like tall grasses and stuff you would find in a field).

The church did an okay job of putting together the memorial service program based on my parents' requests, but I edited/tweaked it a bit on my computer and put a photo of my dad on the front. We had copies printed on heavy stock paper at an office supply shop relatively inexpensively. I think I may have even done the folding and inserting of music sheets but I can't remember. My sister bought a funeral guest book for people to sign in. The church was packed to capacity though it's not a gigantic church.

The main expense was the buffet with open bar at a nice restaurant following the memorial service. Following the buffet which went on for some time, my sister and her husband brought in pizza and other food in the evening and hosted the closest family, friends and clients at their house, which was larger than my mom's house and more suited for entertaining large groups.

[horsemom2]

After my husband retired from a government job at 50, we bought a reasonable 10 year policy. The rates after that policy ended really sky rocketed so we did't get another. Both of us will have the cheapest cremations. Neither of us like visiting graves.

Barb S

[Leonana]

Regarding funeral expenses, there is a you tube channel called Ask A Mortician that addresses this. A lot of the expense is unnecessary, but the funeral home won't tell you that many times. Anyway, she has a some good info on affordable funerals.

[Vantreesta]

This is a really interesting discussion. Thank you to everyone for sharing. It's giving me things to think about.

[bzar]

my parents both purchased a burial plan from one of the mortuaries (civilian). my dad was buried on a military base, therefore, there was no charge for the plot. but the plan was excellent and covered services, preparation, storage and casket. the other expenses we incurred were food and flowers, which was out of pocket. the service was at her parish church, so there was no mortuary hall needed, which cut the cost a lot.

we did a private viewing for the family in one of the mortuary's small rooms.

the VA has quite a lot of services for their members - my niece just informed me of this when she was trying to get her father in law's plans set up - he's still alive but very ill. all i told her was to make sure he has a burial plan.

getting back to insurance, if you buy insurance keep a list of it somewhere for your executor/someone you trust. and if you're married, ask your spouse now whether he/she has a policy at work. this list will become handy for the your heirs when they sort out your affairs. i had an interesting journey in finding out whether my parents had any from their employers and unions that they belonged to. this was on top of both of my parents having filed an estate plan with their attorney.

i found out that there is no "all encompassing database" of insurance policies for people to look for possible claims. a small number of insurance companies will try to contact the beneficiaries, but otherwise, you're on your own. the insurance industry has been criticized for amassing billions in unclaimed payouts.

[kas97]

I read the OP as they bought life insurance on THEMselves before son was born; it was 20 year policy that just ended.

This thread is interesting, I had guarantee issue policies on DH and myself through my work (and my previous two jobs; the policies ported out), so they were small. Unfortunately, my DH died unexpectedly in October. I have no dependents, so I'm reading a lot of responses that I don't need life insurance anymore? Something to ponder, I guess. FWIW, I turned 40 this year.

As an aside, cremation with no service set me back $3000.

[Erica H.]

Originally Posted by kas97

I read the OP as they bought life insurance on THEMselves before son was born; it was 20 year policy that just ended.

This thread is interesting, I had guarantee issue policies on DH and myself through my work (and my previous two jobs; the policies ported out), so they were small. Unfortunately, my DH died unexpectedly in October. I have no dependents, so I'm reading a lot of responses that I don't need life insurance anymore? Something to ponder, I guess. FWIW, I turned 40 this year.

As an aside, cremation with no service set me back $3000.

I am so sorry for your loss!

Erica

[Pat58]

Originally Posted by cyana

Even the "special members only" deal for term life that is offered to members of our credit union is a joke. We agreed at that point it made more sense to add whatever we were paying in premiums to our savings/IRA's, etc. At least the money would stay in our pockets and would be there for emergencies.

That's what I do - and keep my fingers crossed. I have some life insurance through my job. I bought up to increase my insurance and to add DH to the policy. It's not a ton - he gets a payout of two times my annual salary if I go first, and I get $80,000 if he goes - but it's better than zero and it doesn't hurt too much out of my weekly paycheck. The downside is that's dependent on my staying employed here.

Hmm ... might be a good time to invest in insurance stock.

[Scorpio6]

https://www.amazon.com/Important-Inf...VMVEHARQ4CVDV7

Planner for end of life, it's got a place in it for everything.