My job is to plan for catastrophe, yet Jane’s story was an echo of my own. My mother, a fiercely independent and proud woman, worked until she was 86 years old; but after she was forced into a nursing home at age 93, she died within weeks. Ethel enjoyed a long life. Its end was certainly not a direct result of the loss of independence and personal dignity she experienced in the nursing home. But if I had helped her plan for her very old age, she might have spent her last months surrounded by neighbors and friends, instead of professional caretakers. (more…)

Why would an older person still need life insurance?

You may think that your life will get simple in middle age or your senior years. But many of us find that we still have a lot of the same responsibilities that we had before. People depend upon us, and we want to make sure they are taken care of if we pass away.

When we were younger, our agents probably told us to buy a term policy to cover our home mortgages, and also to provide for children while they are young. (more…)