What Happens to Your Kids If You Die? A Parent’s Protection Plan
If you’re the sole provider for your family or a single parent doing it all alone, have you ever sat down and put a real plan together in case something happened to you? In this short video, Cory Levine shares what he learned when his wife passed and he was left to raise an infant and a 7-year-old on his own.
What you’ll learn in this video
- Why a “little life insurance policy at work” may not last long enough for your family
- The everyday responsibilities that fall on one parent overnight, and why income often drops too
- The three pieces of a real plan: guardianship, a will or trust, and enough money in place
- The question every parent should ask: how long will the money actually last?
Your parent protection checklist
- Name a guardian. Decide who would raise your children and put it in writing in your will. Talk to that person first.
- Set up a will or trust. A trust can hold the money for your kids and spell out how and when it’s used. See should your trust be the beneficiary of your life insurance?
- Get the right amount of coverage. Work coverage often equals one or two years of salary and usually ends when you leave the job. Use our free how-much-life-insurance calculator to see what your family would really need.
- Ask about living benefits. Many policies can pay part of the benefit to you if you face a qualifying critical, chronic or terminal illness. Learn how living benefits work.
- Keep everything in one place. Make sure your guardian knows where your will, policies and account information are kept.
Video transcript
I know someone out there needs to hear this. If you’re the sole provider for your family or a single parent who has to do it all alone, have you ever sat down and actually put a plan together in case something happened to you? I didn’t, until I had to deal with this myself.
After my wife passed, leaving me to raise an infant and a 7-year-old alone, it became real, real fast, and everything was on me. I had to do pickups and drop-offs, meals, laundry, dishes, school. I would get calls in the middle of the day and have to go pick them up. I had to do all of it. I quickly learned I couldn’t even make what I was making before, because I needed to be there for everything.
I became obsessed with wills, trusts, figuring out guardianship, protecting assets, and making sure there was actually enough money in place. Because the real question is: how long will the money last from your little life insurance policy at work? Will it last 2 years? 5 years? Will it last long enough for your family to actually be okay?
My name’s Cory Levine, and I’ve spent the last 10 years obsessed with taking care of my family and building my company. It’s called The Life Insurance Professionals, and what we do is so much bigger than that. We help parents put a real plan in place so that their kids and their family are protected, and nothing important is left for somebody else to figure out after you’re gone.
Related reading
- How much life insurance does a single parent need?
- How much life insurance do new parents need?
- 8 things parents should prepare in case something happens (video)
Want help putting your family’s plan together?
Talk it through with a widower and single dad who’s been there. Free 15-minute call. No pressure.
Cory Levine | The Life Insurance Professionals. Licensed agent located in Boca Raton, FL, serving clients nationwide. This video and page are for educational purposes only and are not financial, tax or legal advice. Talk to an estate planning attorney about wills, trusts and guardianship in your state. Policy features, including living benefits, vary by carrier and state.
