Seniors, can we talk?
I’ve got some sad news. I’ve been sharing with you what’s going on with Ruth and Bob. Bob’s health has slowly gotten worse over the past year. Ruth’s stress and responsibilities have slowly increased. Bob lost his battle with Alzheimer’s, a heart condition and cancer. Since Bob passed away, now what? Yes, Ruth was fortunate that Bob had a long term care policy. Bob’s care in the memory unit at the nursing home cost $5400 a month. His long term care policy reimbursed $3477 and Ruth had to pay the balance of $1923 every month. Very quickly this extra $1923 a month caused a financial bind and Ruth had to sell some property they had (this was their plan if expenses were more than the policy paid). This was Ruth’s introduction to “finances” and paying bills. Ruth now has a lot of decisions and adjustments to make. Funeral. Life insurance. Banking. Paying bills. Finances. Ruth selected a funeral home with a history of treating family members with care and respect. These professionals comforted her and gave her options that allowed her to stay in her budget. “They took care of everything”, Ruth said. Since Bob paid all the bills and handled all the finances, Ruth has no idea where to start. Fortunately she has good advisors who truly care about her. Her insurance agent is helping file the claims on Bob’s life insurance. In about two weeks after the claim form is submitted, Ruth should get Bob’s life insurance proceeds. Bob had bought a life insurance policy to help Ruth if he died first. He knew her monthly income would reduce. There would no longer be two (2) Social Security checks and his pension plan would be half of what it had been. In addition to paying “final” expenses, monthly bills would continue. He knew Ruth might need more money to help her handle day-to-day items and unexpected expenses with as little stress as possible. Ruth did tell me that she was so relieved that Bob had bought a life insurance policy and never realized how important that money was going to be to her. It just took some of the pressure off her. And now she will be able to pay her monthly bills and not have to do without the “extras” that mean so much to her (and meant so much to Bob) – Christmas, birthday gifts and even Easter baskets for the grandchildren, weekly lunch with the girls, cable TV, her cell phone and an occasional vacation. Think about it. Let’s say you have a $50,000 life insurance policy. How long can you live on $50,000? Do you think “Ruth” could live on $50,000 the rest of her life? Are you happy with the life insurance you are providing your spouse and heirs? Are you comfortable knowing they can pay the monthly bills? Will you be remembered for how well you provided for “Ruth” or will friends start every sentence with “poor, Ruth”? We’ll continue to talk about other challenges Ruth is facing and how she handles them. If you have any “challenges”, call me at 870-523-6771 and say “Caroline, can we talk?” Originally Published April 2014
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AuthorCaroline Beauchamp specializes in personalized life and health insurance solutions. Archives
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