Det er nok ikke usædvanligt, at folk med høj nettoformue går ud fra, at de ikke har brug for livsforsikring.
Når alt kommer til alt, når du har en vis mængde penge, kan du betragte dig selv som hovedsagelig selvforsikret.
Men selvforsikring er ingen forsikring.
Det kan være sandt selv for personer med høj nettoværdi.
Folk med høj nettoformue har normalt også høje leveomkostninger og høj gæld.
Selv en stor ejendom kan tømmes på overraskende kort tid i fravær af en families primære indkomstmodtager.
Derfor er livsforsikring for mennesker med høj nettoformue meget vigtigere end almindeligt antaget.
Hvad er nogle af årsagerne?
Den gennemsnitlige begravelsesomkostning er mere end $8.700.
Men for personer med høj nettoformue kan dette tal være flere gange højere.
Det kan være ret nemt at administrere, hvis du efterlader et dødsbo med $1 million eller mere i finansielle aktiver.
Men medicinske omkostninger kan være en anden historie .
Sikker på, sygeforsikringer har faste selvrisikoer og maksimumsgrænser.
Men en situation, der involverer en langvarig terminal sygdom, en som varer i et år eller mere, kan resultere i meget højere direkte omkostninger.
Det er ikke ualmindeligt, at eksperimentelle procedurer og behandlinger administreres til en terminal patient.
Så er der spørgsmålet om udvidet sygepleje.
Vidste du, at de nuværende omkostninger ved et plejehjem overstiger 100.000 USD eller over 8.000 USD om måneden?
Med visse typer dødelig sygdom kan du være på et plejehjem i et år eller mere.
Det vil resultere i et sekscifret udlæg, der måske ikke er bedre end delvist dækket af en sygeforsikring.
Selv med en god sygeforsikring eller en langtidsplejeforsikring kan du stadig ende med sekscifre i udækkede lægeudgifter plus begravelsesomkostninger.
Hvis dine økonomiske aktiver er mellem $500.000 og f.eks. $2 millioner, kan det efterlade dine kære med væsentligt færre penge.
En livsforsikring ville dække disse omkostninger og overlade hele dit ejendom til din familie.
Historisk set er ejendomsskatter en af de primære årsager til, at folk med høj nettoformue har livsforsikring.
Ejendomsskatter kan tage en stor del af dine aktiver, hvilket ville efterlade mindre til dine arvinger.
Den føderale ejendomsskattegrænse er høj på 11,4 millioner USD for 2019, op fra 11.180.000 USD i 2018. Det er en ret betydelig stigning.
Men ligesom den føderale tærskel kan stige, kan den også falde.
Dette fald kan ske, hvis regeringen søger at øge skatteindtægterne for at lukke et hul i fremtidige budgetunderskud.
Det er generelt mere politisk populært – og mindre risikabelt – at hæve skatten på de rige end at indføre stigninger, der vil påvirke befolkningen generelt.
Den føderale ejendomsskat er ikke den eneste, du skal bekymre dig om.
Mindst et dusin stater har ejendomsskattegrænser, der er et godt stykke under den føderale grænse.
For eksempel pålægger både Massachusetts og Oregon ejendomsskatter på godser til en værdi af mere end $1 million.
Der er en anden fangst, når det kommer til ejendomsskatten, og den gælder både føderale og statslige skatter.
Til ejendomsskatteformål er din ejendom hele din aktivbase, ikke kun finansielle aktiver som indskudsbeviser, aktier og mæglerkonti.
Andre aktiver, der indgår i dit bo, er:
Disse aktiver kan stadig ikke skubbe dig ind i området for den føderale ejendomsskat.
Men millioner af mennesker er mere værd end de $1 million eller $2 millioner, det vil tage at udløse skatten på statsniveau.
Annoncer efter penge. Vi kan blive kompenseret, hvis du klikker på denne annonce.Annonce
Med en livsforsikring kan du tage dig af din familie på den rigtige måde. Skulle der ske dig noget, vil du gerne efterlade dine kære et økonomisk redeæg for deres velbefindende. Klik på din tilstand for at finde ud af mere. Kom igang It’s not uncommon even for high net worth individuals to underestimate the amount of debt they have.
For example, if your gross estate value is $3 million but you owe $1.5 million in various loans, your loved ones could be forced to liquidate much of your estate to settle those debts.
The problem is once you’re gone, your estate may remain, but your income will go with you.
Though you may be able to comfortably afford your current debts, your family might not be able to do the same without your income.
What’s more, the inability to service those debts could result in your family liquidating assets at less than fair market value.
It’s the kind of thing that happens when bills are piling up and money is short.
Still another possibility is your family attempting to retain the assets securing those debts.
In an effort to do so, they may drain down liquid and financial assets.
As they do, their ability to sustain themselves, as well as to draw income from those assets, will gradually decline.
Eventually, they could be left broke – while still owning indebted physical assets they will no longer be able to carry.
This is often how even very large estates are lost forever.
A lot of high net worth individuals have substantial business interests.
But along with business interests come business debts.
Once again, those debts might be easily serviced while you’re alive and running your business.
But your death may result in a decline in gross business income, which will leave less cash flow to pay debts.
And of course, just because you’re gone doesn’t mean the debts will go away.
One of the primary reasons why high net worth individuals have life insurance at all is because of business debt.
Often, the family isn’t connected with the business and won’t be able to maintain it after your death.
The debts will still be there, needing to be either serviced or paid off completely.
Enter life insurance, which can provide the coverage your family needs.
Still another consideration is the possibility (or even the likelihood ) that your business debts carry your personal guarantee.
That being the case, your business debts will extend to your personal estate.
Life insurance for the purpose of paying business debts may not enable your family to continue operating the business indefinitely.
But it will buy them time to sell the business or shut it down absent the need to pay off business-related debt.
If you live to a ripe old age, when it’s just you and your spouse living off retirement income and the investment income from your financial assets, life insurance may not be that important.
Much or most of the income will continue flowing to your spouse even after your death.
But it’s different if you have a dependent family, particularly children, and a nonworking spouse.
Since you’re a high net worth individual, you probably also have a high income.
That money will certainly disappear upon your death.
But your family’s living expenses won’t.
For example, let’s say you currently earn $500,000 per year.
Now you may be a committed saver, saving $200,000 out of that salary each year.
But that means your family is living on $300,000 per year.
If that income disappears, they may have to live on a lot less.
Since that’s a less than desirable outcome, you’ll need a large amount of life insurance to support them.
College is an especially significant family expense.
It can cost several hundred thousand dollars to send a child to a high-quality school.
If you have several children, or if any one of them wants to pursue a career which requires an extended education, the total cost is even higher.
A large life insurance policy, even just for education, can make that happen after your death.
Even if you’re a high net worth individual, you don’t want to pay too much for life insurance or have more of it than you need.
You can match coverage with specific needs.
In most cases, term life insurance will be the most cost-effective.
It’s much less expensive than whole life insurance and other investment type policies.
That not only keeps premium costs low, but it also allows you to buy more coverage.
In addition, it tends to match up better against specific expenses.
For example, let’s say your estate has a gross worth of $4 million, but you also have $2 million in debt.
If you expect all the debt to be fully paid within 20 years, you can take a 20-year term policy for $2 million to cover them in the meantime.
Once they’re fully paid, there will be no need for coverage and you can then let the policy expire.
The situation is similar to providing a college education for your children.
You may only need a policy until they complete their educations.
In each of the above situations, term life insurance is the best choice.
But you may need to look at some form of permanent insurance if you want to leave additional funds for your spouse.
Term policies eventually expire, and you won’t be able to replace them beyond a certain age.
On the other hand, a whole life policy will literally last until the end of your life.
Of course, that means it will cost more in annual premiums.
But if you’re a high net worth individual, it will be well worth your time to consider the best combination of coverage and cost.
As you shop for life insurance, take a look at my review of the top ten life insurance providers in the United States to ensure you get the best price and policy for your needs.
It’s the best way to ensure your loved ones will get the benefit of your entire estate upon your death.