If you lost your SO, would you be able to pay off all expenses and still be able to live as you are

[demtenjeep]

heard a commercial about this and it got me thinking. My SO's life insurance would definitely pay off all of our bills including the house but I don't know if I would be able to continue to live in the house if I lost him. I don't know that I would be able to maintain the lawn and the maintenance involved. I would probably have to move to an apartment which would mean I would have to find new homes for our babies ( our 2 year old boxer and we are getting a baby boxer in 2 weeks)

On the other hand, my life insurance would be significantly lower and would not pay off all our expenses. Funny how that works. That needs to be addressed along with equal pay.

How would your life change if you lost your SO

[demtenjeep]

1. my health insurance would be way different

his plan is significantly better than what my company offers. I would probably go broke if I had to depend on mine.

[MissB]

2. I've always told him that if he is going to die, please do so

while on a business trip, as I would then receive 3x the insurance.

We would be fine. He has more insurance than I do, but he makes more. If I die, he would have enough to mourn me properly and all that. We have no non-mortgage debt and my income doesn't add much. If he died, his insurance (not the 3x version) would easily pay off the mortgage and give me enough to live on. I make enough to pay the mortgage, but without his insurance it would be tight. Which is why he has it.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

3. Depending on your ages, ten-year TERM life insurance can be relatively cheap.

Also check out "mortgage cancellation" term life insurance

[demtenjeep]

5. if something happened to me, I really don't think he would keep the house

I think he would move back to our home town where life is much more laid back.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

10. IIRC you don't have to use "mortgage cancellation" insurance proceeds to pay off the mortgage--

you can use them for anything you want. It's just another insurance buzzword for term life insurance.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

19. One more thing: Life insurance in many states is much cheaper at savings banks

and credit unions than at big-name insurance corporations. "SBLI" often bypasses HUGE broker/agent insurance commissions that are just money down the drain for consumers.

[Fla_Democrat]

4. Yes

[yankeepants]

6. Sadly, I envy both of you

We have nothing.
If anything happened to either of us we would be left to fend for ourselves.

We half own our house(with the bank) and we work, but other than that we have spent our savings and retirement to live on in the last couple of years.
The only good part is is that we have a positive atitude and we are stupid.

[demtenjeep]

7. This is what needs to be addressed in congress. To work all your life then lose it all

because of death.


It is just not right.

[yankeepants]

12. Pressure on n/t

[dkf]

13. That is how single people live.

And with no kids there is no one to rely on but yourself.

Single people without kids need more savings than everyone else.

[dana_b]

29. exactly. and with a kid or kids it isn't easy either

I am single with one young adult child who lives at home. She couldn't survive on her own. We were about a month and half from homelessness before my disability finally came through (after depleting all savings).

[abelenkpe]

15. Was just talking about that at lunch today

What kind of society has you give your best years to being a productive member of society but then trashes systems designed to give workers a dignified retirement and access to healthcare in their waning years? Honestly I feel like my generation (and all that come after) has been told they can never retire and even then will have to always pay more for far less?

[abelenkpe]

8. No

We don't own a house. Or cars. But without my hubby's salary I wouldn't be able to afford rent and school costs for the kids. And wouldn't be able to afford the time needed to get my kids to all their activities so yeah no.

[TBF]

35. We rent a house and own our cars outright (they are older) -

but I would downsize as soon as I could (as kids got older) into a condo or apartment. I would try to go back to work to see people, but life insurance would handle expenses for quite a while. We'd definitely cut back and private colleges would be out.

[11 Bravo]

9. We would be OK either way.

I am pretty heavily insured, and my wife will become a millionaire the moment I check out. (I'm REALLY glad that she's nuts about me!)
If my sweetie went first, life wouldn't really be worth living except for our sons, so I would carry on, and they would be in good shape.

[Egalitarian Thug]

11. no

[notadmblnd]

14. It has changed so much.

Yes we had life insurance. I paid off all his bills, I paid off all mine. I was advised not to pay off the house (financial advisor). Then lost my job. Received SSI til our son was 16. Lost all but 34k of investments. Then could not pay off house. Could not find a job. Got behind on payments, bank would not work with me. Took last 34k and put down on a smaller/cheaper home and put in sister's name so bank couldn't take it. Walked away from our home (still sitting empty). IRS after me for 12k from the 34k I used for smaller home. Got job cleaning houses for 12 bucks an hour. We now live on about 16k a yr compared to the 115k we earned when husband was alive and both were working. SSI for son is gone (he graduated hs). We are getting by, but things are very tight. Nothing extra, nothing new. Still have dog.

[demtenjeep]

16. I am sorry

something is so wrong that this happens!~


I don't figure I will retire, I will just teach until I die.

[notadmblnd]

21. I have another year and a half and I get my pension, Hopefully things will ease up then.

I think the worst thing about losing him though, is the loneliness. One would think that I would get over it by now (he died in 2003), it does get easier, but I don't think I'll ever get over it. I can't get married again, if I do, I lose his small pension and my health benefits.

[TedBronson]

17. Yup...

My wife has about $1,000,000 coming her way and she would just go back to work in Europe (which she would like to do anyways.)

Plus whatever continued military benefits would come her way as a result of my untimely demise.

If she died, I would just keep on doing what I'm doing so no difference. (Aside from the loss of my soul etc.. etc..)

[Tikki]

18. Yes...but my existence would change radically because....

I am married to the original Mr. Fix-it, can do-it-all, and I
mean he can fix, build, design, cook, arrange, store and move
anything,
My life will have money, a paid for house and all but my
quality of life will diminish greatly without his love, his sense
of humor, his intelligence, his devotion, his smile.
I am very sad thinking about it.

Tikki

[cynatnite]

20. The house would get paid off...

There would be a little left over after that. I think I'd be able to stay in the house and keep it up okay. All we've really worried about is the house if something happened to him.

My SO is the other half of me. I don't like to think about life without him.

[madrchsod]

22. no...i`d be living with one of my kids or in a single room old folks home

[Kalidurga]

23. I would be better off finacially...

I would get the house (paid for) we have no debt, because we live like paupers. Oh wait, we are paupers. But, I would take out a second mortgage, fix this dump up and move into an apartment. I don't know how long all that would take though, I would probably need a lot of help. I can't imagine how long it would take me to get over the devastation of having my SO not be around anymore. We have been together 27 years. Anyway I definitely could not live here without him, too many memories.

[demtenjeep]

24. I agree with that. Too many memories

I don't know how I would face life without my SO, emotionally. He is my rock and my best friend.

[hunter]

25. I'd be a crazy person living on someone's sofa.

Better yet, a tiny house in someone's backyard.

http://tinyhouseblog.com

But I can live in a broken car too, or a friend's apartment with two months rent past due, ready to jump out the window with all my stuff.

I've been there, done that. Don't ever want to do it again, but I could...

[seabeyond]

26. i would drastically downsize in a minute. i dont need or want all this space. and i would be able

to live on that.

[Adsos Letter]

27. How would your life change if you lost your SO?

Financially, I would be fine.

In any other sense it would be absolutely devastating.

[SharonAnn]

34. I found when I lost my SO two years ago. The Term Life helped bridge things, which

it was intended to do, but income went way down and costs went way up. Lost his income and have to pay for many services he provided (fixing things, lawn and car maintenance, computer and other technology maintenance, etc.). More demands on my time with no one to share household tasks (I used to do the cooking, grocery shopping, and laundry and he wrote the checks for bills and balanced the accounts).

I'm a professional myself, but still.

I'm capable of doing nearly all these things, but it consumes a lot more of my time just to keep things running and leaves me much less available time for other things.

All this was not a surprise, the surprise was the magnitude of difference in my life. There are still only 24 hours in a day and now there's just me to tend to things.

All this, of course, is just the task-based stuff. The overwhelming grief and learning to deal with things day by day while you slog through the grief is another whole set of things.

[femmocrat]

28. I don't know. I just hope I go first.

I could never maintain this property on my own.

[cpamomfromtexas]

30. I would miss my lover, money would never be an issue

[tammywammy]

31. I don't have a SO, but if I died there's plenty to take care of my estate.

I have enough life insurance and 401k money that would more than enough cover my house and vehicle if my parents chose to pay them off. I figure they'd sell my house anyway. I have a minor amount of credit card debt, and my student loans would be dismissed upon my death. So there's plenty of money to take care of business, plus I'd be able to leave a little for my nephews college funds.

[FreeState]

32. No - I'd lose pretty much everything within 6 months n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

33. Haven't got one; I'm on my own.

[Blue_In_AK]

36. We have no life insurance, but I think I'd be okay.

I bought my home, a duplex, in 1990, 13 years before my current husband and I married and while my ex was in prison. (Long story.) I've been through thick and thin with this place, and I'd find a way to stay. I might have to raise the rent on the apartment (which I've always rented below market to family and friends) or possibly take in a boarder or have my youngest daughter move in. I know she'd love to live here.

We have some savings and my mortgage could be paid off if I had to. I would grieve, and my lifestyle would change, but that's happened to me many times before. I'm a survivor.

[Rowdyboy]

37. We live in Mississippi so cannot be legally married....Our home would go to distant cousins of his...

people we have no contact with or interest in. Our garden, which we have built together over 23 years would be gone with the house. I'm beneficiary of his life insurance and all the cd's are in both our names but obviously I couldn't get any social security or state retirement benefit from his estate (he taught public schools for 30 years). Should his cousins choose to sue, they could probably take it all, depending on the jury. And thats even if we were to travel to a state where gay marriage is legal.

Even if they let me keep the house, it would only be temporary. My income alone wouldn't be enough for maintenance on a 110 year old place (2800 square feet). It would eat me alive.

We spend pretty much 24/7 with each other-my life would irreparably shatter should anything happen to Michael. I really have a hard time imagining it.

on edit: I'd live in my car before I gave up our 13 year old Jack Russell. She goes with us regrdless.

[cherokeeprogressive]

38. My Wife is the kindest, gentlest, most generous person I've ever met in my life.

Without her I'd be lost.

When we sleep, we spoon. When I turn over, so does she; when she turns over, so do I. When we walk, we walk hand-in-hand. When I'm with her, she DOES NOT touch a door handle. She cooks, I clean... I cook, she cleans. WE cook, WE clean.

The only thing we don't share is toilet paper.

Could I live without her? At first I wouldn't call it living. I'd call it getting by. I'd be an emotional wreck for a long time. I'd adjust though and she would as well.

Financially? Neither of us would suffer financially.

[Roselma]

39. I almost could, I think I'd stay in the house

and rent out a room or get a roommate for one of spare bedrooms. That way, I'd be able to definitely hold my own.

[patcassidy]

40. Spam deleted by pinto (MIR Team)