If all you have is life insurance (no assets) and the beneficiary is your only child do you still need a will.

Question

there are 3 life insurance policies - two to the only child (16 yrs old) and a small policy for funeral expenses. there are no assets. is a will still required even though that child is named beneficiary on the insurance policies?

Answer 1

Kudos to you for getting the insurance in case of your untimely death and that your child will have something when you pass.

I would STRONGLY advise that (with or w/o the will), you let someone know like a close relative, that there is an insurance policy and that it is current.  If you die and no one knows the policy exists, and certainly the insurance company will not know that you died, only they will know that payments have stopped coming in.

It's an uphill battle for your relatives to find out which insurance company it is. Also if the beneficiary is under 18, someone like a guardian will have to collect on his/her behalf. So I definately would advise on a will. And be careful who you designate as guardian, trustee if you decide to have the death benefit go to a trust..

Plan carefully!  If you don't your child might not get what you intend to give them!

Answer 2

No-the life insurance money goes to your child outside the will.  However, you should have a will with a guardianship provision to appoint someone to care for your child if you should die while she/he is still a minor.  Also, as the years pass, you will acquire more property, such as a car and furniture, eventually a house.  A standard will can cover all that indefinitely.  If you marry or have more children, you'll need to update your will.

Answer 3

Yes. The child cannot receive any money until he/she turns 18. Once he/she turns 18, however, all money goes to him/her regardless of your wishes. A will is necessary if you have a specific plan as to what will happen to the money after age 18. Also, if you have someone who will take care of your child until 18, a will is helpful to make known to them your wishes and how you want things taken care of.

Answer 4

Even though you may not have any assets now, you may in the future; therefore, you should get a Will - but not only a Will.

There is a second legal document you need generated before you die:  A Living Trust.  And just in case you are thinking it, a Will and a Living Trust are not the same thing, nor just because you have one doesn't mean you need the other.

A Living Trust does several things.  Among other things, it provides a legal way for you to assign someone to be in charge of your finances in the case that you are incapacitated and it does not go through probate, which means that your assets (even insurance policies) will not be used to pay off any debts and your assets  are distributed according to your Will.

Answer 5

If you have lots of valuable assets such as your home, underage children, antiques, investments, bank accounts, etc, then you should get a Will done. Even though your child is named as a beneficiary on your life insurance policy, the government will seize control of any assets you have when you die. Then your family members would have to battle in court to take possession of whatever you have.

Anyway, my question to you is why do you have 2 life policies on your child and a small one on yourself? Life insurance is a financial tool that can manage the risk of income loss. If you die tomorrow, your income will stop flowing into the household. Your family will not be financially ok and they would need to make dramatic changes in their life to keep up with the bills.

Your child shouldn't even have life insurance, let alone have 2 policies. Is your child providing any income to the household? If the child is, are you going to be dependent on your child's income? Don't you think you have a higher probability of dying before your child does?

I don't know what's your reason for having more than one life insurance policy in the family. My advice to you is see if you can qualify for 20 or 30 year term insurance and get the right amount of coverage you need. Financial experts say you need coverage of 8-12 times your annual income to protect your family from financial devastation. If you want life insurance on your child as well, you should add a child rider to your life policy and get coverage of anywhere between $10k to $25k on the child.

Answer 6

As a minor child, whoever has custody of him will have control of his assets.  You might be better off creating a will and naming a custodian AND creating a trust for your kid so that the money cannot be abused.  Both of these documents are simple for an attorney to create.

You don't have to do this planning work if you don't want to.  Anna Nicole Smith didn't.

Answer 7

YES, everyone should have a Will. For one, it will dictate how you want the money for the child to be managed, and by whom. For example, you will it to your sister in trust for the benefit of your child, to be used for education expenses until your child is 25. Then the child receives the remainder of the trust. The child's care also needs outlined .. who is the guardian, who is the trustee. My daughter's guardian is her aunt, but the trustee is my cousin (a partner at a major cpa firm). That way the aunt can't get a wild hair and decide a joint trip to Europe is an "education expense." :-)

Get a Will.

Answer 8

YES!  First, you need to name a guardian for your child in your will!  Second, you need a "living will" so that people will know what you want if you're ever in a Teri Schivo situation.  Third, your will can name a separate person to manage the insurance proceeds for your child -- thus eliminating a potential conflict of interests.

(I know what I'm talking about because I'm a financial planner.)

Answer 9

Easy answer question,no.Not solvable question,no.Browse this information,your answer may be here.http://lifeinsurance.online-helpers.info...

Answer 10

required? no

and it will make things easier if you do have one for who ever gets to clean up your estate.