A death in the family is stressful enough, but it’s also expensive. The average funeral costs upwards of $10,000. In many cases, there are also medical bills, travel costs, and other unanticipated expenses; they are often higher than the funeral itself.

If you’re like most people who incur debt, plan on leaving enough money to pay it off. By factoring in the balance of mortgages, credit card debt, and other loans, you will spare your family the financial burden and stress of paying those financial obligations.

Education is expensive. Think about providing an education fund for your children. Should they be privately schooled? What will they do for college?

Even if you don’t have any children now, you may in the future.

Life insurance planning is about making sure your loved ones can continue to thrive after you’re gone. make sure they’ll have enough monay to pay day-to-day expenses for a reasonable amount of time.

Life insurance and other assets are used to offset the financial needs that arise when someone dies. Potential financial resources include individual or group life insurance, investments, stocks that can be liquidated, and salable items.

Your total insurance need reflects the expenses your family will incur and the income they have to offset them.

The first green box represents the expenses of your family; it is added to your insurance need. The second green box is their income; it is subtracted from your insurance need. The third box is how much insurance you still need, if any.