How Much Life Insurance Should You Buy on Your Wife?
If you are married and planning for the future financial security of your family, you may be considering how much life insurance you should buy on your wife.
After all, your wife is the center of your family and contributes to the overall well-being of your family in so many ways. It may be hard to put an actual dollar amount on the contribution your wife makes to your family.
But the fact of the matter is very straightforward – it would take a lot to replace everything your wife does, day-in and day-out, to take care of everyone in your household.
Also, you’ll want to take into consideration your wife’s monetary and non-monetary efforts. Some wives work outside of the home, and take care of the family. While others are full-time homemakers.
Some estimates indicate you may have to pay someone up to $20 per hour or more, to handle all of the work around the house a full-time homemaker handles each day.
In addition, if your wife works, and your family relies on her income to pay the bills, you’ll also want to replace her income.
This is where life insurance can help to provide the financial security your family needs and deserves.
How to Determine Life Insurance Amount for Wife
To begin, you’ll want to think about everything you wife does for your family and how much it would cost to replace all of that work.
In addition, consider any income your wife earns.
For example, if your wife earns $25,000 a year and spends 30 hours a week on work around the house and for the family, you may come up with this number:
Then, consider how old your kids are, and how many years you need to replace your wife’s contribution to the family.
Five Years would be $56,200 X 5 = $281,000 of life insurance.
Life Insurance Needs Calculator
One of the easiest and most accurate ways to determine how much life insurance your wife, or anyone else needs, is to use a life insurance needs calculator.
Using a needs calculator is simple, you just answer some basic questions about your family’s finances and click on a button to instantly see how much life insurance is right for you, or your wife.
How Much Life Insurance Do Married Couples Need?
Usually, financial advisors may suggest buying 10–12 times your annual salary for both you and your spouse.
If you die, your spouse can take the lump sum death benefit from your life insurance policy and invest that money into a mutual fund that averages at least 7% growth per year.
Can I Buy Life Insurance for My Wife?
Yes, you can buy life insurance on your wife.
If you are married, you have an Insurable Interest in your wife, which is required in order to buy life insurance on someone else.
Insurable Interest basically means you either rely on the person for some means of financial support, or that you would suffer a financial loss, should the person die.
The most common way for spouses to buy life insurance is to buy two separate, individual policies at the same time.
That means each spouse has their own policy, and names the other spouse as the beneficiary of their life insurance policy.
Again, make sure to use a life insurance needs calculator to decide how much life insurance to purchase for you, and for your spouse.
Should You List Your Spouse as Your Life Insurance Beneficiary?
Yes, most married couples who own a life insurance policy, list their spouse as the primary beneficiary of their life insurance plan.
Having your spouse as your life insurance beneficiary guarantees that your family will have the money needed to pay the rent or mortgage on your home, and provide for your family’s other living expenses, including food, clothing, and health care.
Your life insurance payout will help make sure your spouse can raise your children without your income.
Life Insurance Quotes
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