Planning for what will happen once you have passed away isn’t something many people like to think about having to do. There is a macabre feeling to think about life without you here and the heartbreaking aspect that you will be missing out on valuable aspects of life.
Sadly, on average, over 1800 people die daily in the UK. From succumbing to long illnesses and health conditions, from short unexpected health issues, natural causes amongst others, it is true what they say that you can never truly know how long you have left to live.
With this in mind, are you financially prepared for death? And can you ever be truly ready? While you can’t exactly predict these things, you can do a few things to remain in good financial health to ensure that should our loved ones have to live in a world without you, you have done everything you can to make things easier.
Read on to learn more.
Life Insurance
One of the best ways to protect yourself and your loved ones in the event of death is to have a life insurance policy in place. These policies will pay out in the event of death or life-changing injuries and illnesses, alleviating some of the financial worries.
That being said, not all insurance policies are the same, and you should be as honest about your health as possible when taking out your policy to ensure it isn’t avoided when you need it to payout and ensure it covers everything you wish. The sooner you take out life insurance, the lower the prices will be; however, do remember, if you stop paying into this, you don’t get a payout.
Funeral Plans
In the UK, there are a variety of prepaid funeral plans that you can purchase to cover all associated costs should your family need to plan a funeral. Typically you pick the service provider and pay towards the price of a full funeral or cremation. Martin Lewis recommends funeral plans if you have the money to pay for one upfront or if you think your family will struggle to pay for a funeral for you. One of the massive benefits of buying into a funeral plan is the price you pay now still stands even if you don’t use it for 10 or 15 years. For example, you pay £5, 000 for a funeral today; however, when you die, the same funeral is £7,000. You won’t need to pay the extra £2,000, nor will your family be asked for this top-up amount.
Purchase A Burial Plot
A funeral plan doesn’t cover a burial plot. If you wish to be buried in your local ceremony, you can expect to pay upwards of £2,000 for your plot alone on top of the funeral costs. This is before you look for headstones or grave markings from companies such as Memorials.com.
If you are looking at paying upfront for a funeral plan, then it can be worth prepaying for burial plots from your local council. If you wish to be buried with other family members, you may find there are discounts on purchasing additional space.
Deal With Debts
This is something that is covered frequently, but it is still an important thing to take care of as soon as possible. Any debts you leave, when you die will get paid for out of your assets, and no one else will be expected to pay them. However, debts can eat into what you can leave for loved ones, meaning they may not get what you want them to have if your estate needs to pay off debts in your name.
Build Up Savings
Having savings for a will, funeral expenses and living costs for your family once you pass away can help to soften the financial burden in your absence. How much you save is entirely up to you, but if you feel your loved ones will be in financial difficulty, then you can squirrel some money away as much as you can afford, just in case you need to have it.
Write A Will
A will is the best and legal way to ensure all of your assets go where you need them to. You can be financially prepared for your death as possible, but if you neglect to write a will, then chances are all of this may be in vain. Look into different things your family will likely experience, such as legal costs, solicitors fees, inheritance tax etc. and ensure you know exactly what will happen to your money.
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney order can be beneficial in circumstances where you might not be able to be in full control of your affairs or your health. These are usually reserved for people struggling with mental illnesses such as dementia or short-term complications such as hospital stays. This can help you have someone who can take care of your finances and measure your financial health.
Have The Talk
As hard as it might be to do so, you need to talk to your loved ones about your finances and what you want to happen when you die. It will likely be highly emotional, and many people won’t have the right frame to deal with such topics. You need to speak to someone you trust for you to be confident that someone knows your wishes and what they can expect financially once you do pass. If you only have one person who knows about your accounts, your will and life insurance policies, this can be extremely beneficial to those you leave behind.
Conclusion
The reality is the more careful you are with your finances when you are alive, the better the position you will be in should you have to plan for your death or your family be left to live without you unexpectedly.
Being careful with finances, having insurance policies in place and being proactive for your wishes and funeral can help you to help your family at a time when they need it the most.
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