Posts Categorized: LIfe Insurance

Protecting Your Family’s Safety Net: How to Set Up Your Life Insurance Policy The Right Way

by Tara Cheever ~ Attorney at Law January 23, 2024 Estate Planning, Insurance, LIfe Insurance, Trusts, Wills

Crafting a thorough Life & Legacy Plan involves designing a plan that allows you to fully relish your life while safeguarding your loved ones’ future in your absence. While life insurance is indeed a straightforward method to ensure your loved ones’ security, it’s crucial to structure your policy correctly for optimal impact on your family.

How you choose your beneficiaries for your insurance policy can really affect how well it works, how it gets used, and who gets to manage it once you’re gone. In this blog, we’ll look at the dos and don’ts of naming beneficiaries on your life insurance to make sure your loved ones get the support they need when something happens to you. READ MORE

4 Common Mistakes Made On Life Insurance Beneficiary Designations

by Tara Cheever ~ Attorney at Law January 31, 2023 Estate Planning, Insurance, LIfe Insurance, Trusts, Wills

Although it would seem common sense, whether intentional or not, far too many people fail to name any beneficiary on their life insurance policies or inadvertently name their “estate” as beneficiary. Both of these errors will mean your insurance proceeds must go through the court process known as probate.

During probate, a judge will determine who gets your insurance death benefits. This process can tie the benefits up in court for months or even years, depending on who the beneficiaries of your estate are under the law. Moreover, probate opens up the proceeds to creditors, which can seriously deplete or even totally wipe out – the funds. READ MORE

What You Need to Know About Collecting Life Insurance Proceeds

by Tara Cheever ~ Attorney at Law July 5, 2022 Estate Planning, LIfe Insurance

If you’re looking to collect life insurance proceeds as the policy’s beneficiary, the process is fairly simple. However, during the emotional period immediately following a loved one’s death, it can feel as if your entire world is falling apart, so it’s helpful to understand exactly what steps you need to take to access the insurance funds as quickly and easily as possible.

Not to mention, if you’ve been dependent on the person who died for financial support and/or you are responsible for paying for the funeral or other expenses, the need to access insurance money can be downright urgent. Plus, unlike other assets, an estate’s executor typically isn’t involved with collecting life insurance proceeds, since benefits pass directly to a beneficiary, so this is something you will need to handle yourself.   READ MORE

Statements of Intent or Purpose in Estate Planning Documents

by Tara Cheever ~ Attorney at Law February 11, 2022 Estate Planning, LIfe Insurance, Trust Administration & Probate, Trusts, Wills

The reasons you, as a trustmaker, create a trust are certainly special and important to you. Still, your intent or purpose for creating a trust can also have significant legal ramifications.

For this reason, it is often critical that a trustmaker express in writing their purpose for creating the trust. There are essentially two different ways of documenting a trust maker’s intent – each has slightly different purposes, and sometimes both are generally called a “statement of intent.” READ MORE

Purchasing Life Insurance For Your Family: What You Need To Know

by Tara Cheever ~ Attorney at Law February 8, 2022 Estate Planning, LIfe Insurance

Although purchasing life insurance may seem pretty straightforward, it can be rather complex, especially given the different types of coverage available. Plus, because insurance agents often earn hefty commissions on the policies they sell, it can be challenging to determine precisely how much coverage (and what type of insurance) you need – and who you can trust to give you objective and accurate advice about that coverage.

With this in mind, we’ll break down the common types of life insurance coverage, explain how each of the different kinds works, and outline what you need to know to purchase a policy that will adequately address your needs, objectives, and family situation. While you should always meet with your Personal Family Lawyer® to ensure you get the proper coverage, here are a few of the most important factors to consider when shopping for a life insurance policy. READ MORE