Insurance

Mid-Summer is Time for a Midyear Financial Checkup

Published on: August 19, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

While the number of people making New Year’s financial resolutions are on the rise, we would do well to make a midyear financial check a regular part of the summer season.

The good news is more than 30% of Americans did give some thought to making financial resolutions this past New Year, according to a survey from Fidelity Investments. The goals were nothing out of the ordinary. They were simply the things we should all be doing with our money: saving more, spending less and getting rid of debt.

If you were one of these go-getter and goal-setters, this summer is a perfect time to look at your progress, says US News in “Keep Your Money Goals on Track with a Midyear Financial Checkup.”

How Insurance Can Be Used to Leave an Inheritance

Published on: July 12, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Planning to leave an inheritance for your children requires a careful examination of all of your assets, and insurance could be part of that plan.

Most couples use term insurance to help protect their loved ones pay the bills after they pass. A question answered in the NJ 101.5 article “Do you need more insurance?” asks if insurance can also be used to leave an inheritance for children.

If leaving an inheritance is important to you, start this process by taking an inventory of all your assets. Look at how they may factor into your support during retirement and see what might be left as an inheritance. This exercise may result in discovering that you already have money that will make a nice inheritance for your children someday in investment or retirement accounts. In addition, your primary residence could be a source of inheritance.

“The Widow Lincoln” Sheds Light on Financial Lessons for Houston Widows

Published on: March 13, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

As Mary Todd Lincoln’s character in “The Widow Lincoln” faces dozens of unpaid bills for home furnishings, clothes and jewelry, she asks, “How will I ever pay these debts? I am nothing. I am no one.” On top of moving out of the White House, mothering her sons and moving forward with her life, Lincoln must deal with all these financial stresses. She no longer has her husband to rely on for emotional support, income or an identity. It’s a crisis many women in the 21st century face, too.

A recent article in U.S. News & World Report, titled “Modern Money Lessons from Mary Todd Lincoln,” reports that experts recommend participating in money management throughout marriage and preparing for the possibility of one day being on your own, like many women eventually are, due to divorce or death.

Becoming a widow often means a drastic change and a new way of life, whether in 1865 or 2015. For many, it means understanding how to manage finances by yourself and experiencing less income, along with debilitating grief.

What Is Survivorship Insurance?

Published on: January 6, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Some wealthy people are taking another look at survivorship insurance. The relatively obscure product, also known as "second-to die" insurance, insures two lives, usually spouses, with one policy.Like its name indicates, the product pays out the benefit after the death of the second insured.

Where there is a risk and an attending financial exposure you cannot afford, there is a form of insurance to cover that risk exposure. When it comes to the ultimate risk – your family’s risk of losing you – life insurance is the fundamental solution. But what if there are two spouses? Naturally, financial risk is felt by the survivor at the passing of the first. That is why almost everyone needs some form of life insurance to provide for the surviving spouse. However, when there is some quantifiable financial risk left behind when the survivor passes, then there is a special form of life insurance to cover such exposure. It is called “survivorship life insurance.”

For the basics on survivorship insurance, consider reading a recent Forbes article titled “Sales of Survivorship Insurance Gain.”

Insurance And Financial Planning Go Hand In Hand in Houston

Published on: December 13, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Discomfort with the details prevents many people from obtaining the necessary coverage.

The kinds of insurances we are “required” to buy help us with the minor bumps and scrapes in life and are sometimes easy to think about, shop for or ensure that we have adequate coverage. Auto and homeowners insurance, for example, come immediately to mind.

On the other hand, disability insurance, long-term care insurance and life insurance are another matter entirely. As USA Today points out in a recent article titled “Insurance is most ignored in financial planning,” these three insurances are all too often ignored, misunderstood and difficult to think about emotionally. Nevertheless, they are often essential.