Everyone knows that life insurance serves an important purpose in caring for your spouse or children if something happens to you. But for those without either spouse or kids, they may feel that life insurance doesn't have benefits. But is that really true?
The same benefits that your children can get from a life insurance payout could be given to a number of different people. Who might you be able to take care of if you leave them your life insurance money? Here are five great candidates whose circumstances you could change for the better.
1. Charitable Organizations
Americans are often generous with their donations to worthy causes. But the average person may not feel that they have enough money to include charitable giving in their estate plans. However, if you have a life insurance policy, you do have the means to give charitably. And you can give a charity or non-profit enterprise enough money to make a serious impact on their ability to help others.
You have the option of simply naming one or more charities as beneficiaries. You could also choose to go the extra mile and set up a foundation to be funded by a significant life insurance policy. A private foundation allows you (or whomever you put in charge) more choice in who will receive money and could extend the money longer than a direct donation.
2. Older Relatives
As the number of older Americans constantly rises, so do the burdens of paying for
medical care. With in-home care costing up to $4,000 per month and nursing care costing more than $7,000 monthly, both caregivers and seniors worry about how they will pay for what is needed.
Why not take steps to help the older members in your family by including them in insurance payouts? Is there a relative who may be burdened by chronic health issues or who is already somewhat financially insecure even as a younger senior? If not, are there older family members of your close friends who could use the help?
3. Struggling Family Members
If you don't have kids to support, consider looking beyond your immediate family for persons who could use a leg up financially. You don't have to give all your life insurance to one person, but you could spread it out to help extended family in more modest ways. This might include nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even farther out in the family tree.
If you have relatives who struggle with debt, college expenses, day care costs, unreliable vehicles, or other medium-sized financial problems, just a portion of a life insurance policy could do wonders to help them out. And due to life insurance's long-term payment structure, it doesn't cost you very much to be a benefactor to a big group of people.
4. Your Business
Do you own and operate a business? Then you have to plan how it will continue if something happens to you. Would the business, for instance, need to hire someone to replace you? Would partners need to buy out your heirs? Would someone have to be trained to do work you perform consistently? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, the business would benefit from financial help.
Once you think outside the box about recipients of your insurance policy, you're sure to find many loved ones whose lives you could change. And you will know that you leave a legacy no matter how much (or how little) money you have.
Learn more about life insurance funds and the best ways to help others by meeting with an insurance professional at
Habersham Funding LLC
today.
