What's Worth your Time?

When you're right you're right.  My dad always said you can tell what a guy really cares about by how he spends his time.  No doubt ... that is one true statement!  We all spend our time doing the things that are most important to us.  There are some things we have to do and profess not to enjoy (like going to work) but even those activities show people what is important to us.

The guy that goes to a job everyday for 35 years that he hates and takes all the overtime he can probably isn't a sadistic maniac.  He probably wants to provide for his family and give his children a better life and more opportunities than he had.

However, finding time to spend with your loved ones is one of the most important parts of your day.  It shows them that you think they are important, because you are spending the one thing you can earn more of ... time.

I'm lucky to have lived long enough to meet my first grandson.  I love spending time with him, and in his eyes that is the only thing that matters.  It really doesn't matter what we are doing either, he's happy to watch TV with me, walk around the house or sometimes we stand under the ceiling fan, and I hold him up so he can practice pulling the chain that turns it on and off.

Sure it's nice when people change his diaper, bath him, or feed him but in the end he knows that people care for him because the spend their time with him.  The rest of us recognize that new clothes, toys and health insurance are important but his life is pretty simple and is distilled down to time.

Take some time to spend with your favorite people this week ... and show them what they mean to you.

What's really important?

No event in life ranks as high as the birth of a child.  The birth of my first grandchild a couple of weeks ago really punctuate that point for me again.  In everything that we do and all we try to obtain in this world we should realize that it is the two common experiences that we all have that bind us together in this world.

 

We are all born and we all die ... all the events in between pale in comparison to those two.  Our first day on this planet is a special one that should be celebrated and honored.  No matter how humble or expansive our beginnings, we come into life the same way.

 

Likewise, when it is time for us to leave this world, we do so alone and without the money, or possessions we've accumulated.  It is such a powerful and profound moment when you get to share someone's last second on earth with them, it will forever change you.

 

I make my living by helping people protect the things they accumulate after they are born and leave behind when they die ... sounds silly in the scope of things, doesn't?  That's why I'll always tell you that life insurance is the most important kind of insurance there is.  It's the only type of insurance guaranteed to pay off.

Protect the ones you love, FIRST!  Then we can talk about you car, business or home.

Call or email me for a low cost option for life insurance!

How big of a tax bill are you leaving for the kids & grandchildren?

Do you think about this?  I do ... what will Uncle Sam take from my children's inheritance?  How much of my legacy will be lost to taxes?  Do you really want your heirs to lose the money that you have set aside for them?  No, of course not but have you spent a couple of hours to plan a strategy for helping them keep more of what you leave behind?

Here are two quick ideas to help you plan for giving ALL of your legacy to your heirs.  These are just a starting point, you need to speak to your insurance professional to personalize them and see if they will work for you.

First, if you have a lump sum of money that you want to leave to your grandchildren or you kids, lets say you have $10,000 in the bank that you got from the sale of your Great Aunt's home when she passed away.  You figure that you will hold on to it in case you need it but once you are gone you want the Grand kids (let's say you have two) to get enough to buy a car or put down on a small home.  $5,000 is not a bad amount ... and you are not risking it in the stock market so you leave it in the bank and put in your will that they get it when you are gone.  But when you pass away they will have to what for the probate process to be completed.  Then if there are no other liens on the estate they will at least be charged income tax (about 25%) and Indiana inheritance tax (5%).  This means they will both get about $3,500 after those taxes are satisfied. 

Okay let's change one part of this example, let's say that you buy a single premium life insurance policy with the $10,000, this will buy your heirs about $19,444 (assuming you don't use tobacco are age 65, female and in pretty good health) in death benefit when you pass away.  Which means that each grandchild will get $9,722 with no income tax or Indiana inheritance tax and they will get their money right away regardless of thee probate process or any additional liens on the estate.  So your two grand kids will get over 2 & 1/2 times the money.

Now, the second example is if you have 100 acres that you are leaving to your 3 children.  Let's say the fair market value of that 100 acres is $7,500 an acre ... you see where I'm going with this right?  You add the value of the land the value of the home the other assets and soon your children have a pretty big tax bill. 

If you spend a few hours with your insurance professional you will know what that tax figure will look like and you can take out a life insurance policy that will give your children the funds they need to pay the tax bill without having to sell off pieces of the family farm at a time when they are morning the loss of a parent.

Every one's situation is different but by planning ahead you can leave even more  for your heirs and really reduce the tax burden that they will face in the wake of your passing.  One note though ... the earlier in life that you start the process the less it will cost you, both of these options require you to be insurable and under the age of 80.

Here are some online calculators to help you figure out what you will need to pass on all you have worked so hard to get.

http://www.infarmbureau.com/website/general/resourcesTools.aspx

J