Have you Taken Care of Your Wife - After Your Death?
PrintDescription: If you are a good husband, you will do all that is within your means to take care of your wife. However, you should consider the position you would leave your wife in if you should die suddenly. This article outlines some things to keep in mind.
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Introduction
When you got married, you might have promised something along the lines of loving your wife until death separates you. However, is that enough? I want to say, "No, it is not enough!"
"What," you say, "do you expect me to take care of my wife after my death also?"
Absolutely! Read this article to see why I say that.
While You Live
If you are a good husband, you will do all that is within your means to take care of your wife. This will include things like the following:
• Doing your level best at your job so you can progress in your career
• Living in the best neighborhood you can afford
• Making sure the car is properly serviced so it does not break down when she drives it
• and a host of other things too numerous to list here ...
To a good husband, these things are all simply natural, and you most likely do not have to be reminded of them.
But What Happens after Your Death?
The absolute reality of this was brought to my attention again last month when, at the young age of 30, my son-in-law died. He was not sick, and nobody anticipated his death. It happened while he was on his way to work. It was 7:20 am and there was a thick fog, which reduced visibility. He was involved in a head-on collision with another car. He died on impact. One moment he was on his way to work and the next moment he was dead. And suddenly my daughter was a widow at the age of 28, and their baby son, 18 months old, was fatherless.
This made me realize, again, how important it is for a good husband to plan for unexpected events like his death or disability.
Plan for Your Death
In saying that a good husband should plan for his death, I am not saying you should plan to die - obviously not. However you should consider the position you would leave your wife in if you should die suddenly. Below are some things that you should keep in mind.
Make Sure that You Have a Valid Will
Make sure you use a reputable institution or person to advise you on the contents of your will. In many countries, there are institutions that will do this for you, and such services are often provided free of charge. Your bank could be a good place to start looking for advice and assistance in this regard.
Also, ensure that your will is always up to date. In other words, if something happens that changes your circumstances substantially - like the birth of a baby - then be quick to update your will accordingly.
Make Sure that You Have Sufficient Life Insurance
Life insurance is an ideal way of providing cash to your family at the time when they might need it most. If you are not too old and you are in fairly good health, life insurance premiums are not too expensive. And the benefit of having that cash available is immeasurable.
What is "enough" life insurance? It differs from person to person. Get reliable advice on this, but make sure that you cover at least the following:
• Enough life insurance to cover ALL your debts - you do not want your wife to lose the house just because she cannot keep up the payments, do you?
• Additional to cover the costs of your funeral
• Additional to provide for your family as stated above (again, this amount will differ from person to person)
• Additional for other things. Example: You might have been wanting for some time to buy a new car, but have not done it yet. Through your life insurance, you can provide the cash for your wife to replace the old clunker with a reliable car.
Life insurance is arguably the best, and often also the cheapest, way to ensure that there will be enough cash available at exactly the time it is needed the most.
Make Sure your Wife Has Access to Funds Immediately
Often when a person dies, his bank accounts are frozen. In most western countries, there are ways to provide for some cash (maybe a part of your life insurance pay-out) to be made available to your wife immediately so that she has money available for the day-to-day running of the household.
Get the necessary advice from a reputable institution or person, and put in place the necessary things so as to ensure your wife does not end up being out of cash after your death.
Make Sure your Wife Knows where to Find Things
Your will, life insurance policies, a list of monthly bills to be paid, provisions made, etc. should all be stored in a place where your wife can access them easily and immediately if required. This will take away any guesswork on her part at a time when she will have many things to work through.
Summary
As you can see, there are quite a few things to do in preparation for your unexpected death. However, I am sure you will agree that your wife is worth this little bit of extra care from you!
About the Author:
Schalk Lubbe has been married for thirty years and learned a lot about what causes marriages to fail. Get his eBook, "How to Be a Good Husband" today. Article Source: Eulogy Site - http://EulogySite.com