Nobody wants to think about what will happen to loved ones after they pass away. Many of us have already endured the death of a family member, and we are very familiar with the financial and emotional stress that arises after a relative dies. For individuals with student loans, the passing of a parent or other family member can cause additional financial issues, since student loan borrowers might have difficulty paying for final expenses while managing student debt. As someone who has unfortunately dealt with the passing of both my parents, I wanted to convey in this article how life insurance can help children with student loans.
This is already shaping up to be a pretty depressing article! I don’t want to be a downer, and of course, no one wants to think about end-of-life issues. However, I just wanted to share my own experiences with the passing of family members in order to convey to parents that life insurance can help children with student loans.
My mother got sick when I was around 10, and she passed away a few days after I turned 19. At that time, I had just finished my first year of college, and I did not have much money to contribute to her final expenses. Thankfully, the older members of my family were able to split my mother’s final costs, and I did not need to contribute anything toward her funeral expenses.
The first time I had to pay for the final costs of a family member was when my grandfather passed away about 18 months ago. My grandfather did not have any money, and I could see that my grandmother was stressed about his final expenses. My four brothers and I ultimately split my grandfather’s funeral costs, and we had to pay a few thousand dollars each to cover his final expenses.
My grandfather passed away shortly after I paid off my student loans, and at that time, I was in a tough financial situation. As detailed in a prior article, I paid off my student loans rather hastily, and I did not have much savings for life emergencies at that time. However, I was able to move some money around to help pay for my grandfather’s final expenses, and it was worth it to put my grandmother at ease.
After my grandfather passed away, I expected that I would not need to pay final expenses for a loved one for a long time. Nevertheless, about a month ago, my father passed away after a brief illness. Once again, my brothers and I had to pay the final expenses of a loved one, and the travel costs associated with attending his funeral and settling his affairs.
When my father passed away, I no longer had student loans, and I had reached a measure of financial security, Nevertheless, a few of my brothers still had student loans and other financial issues. Although my brothers had the money to pay for my father’s final expenses, it was definitely a burden. However, my brothers and I believed that my father had a modest life insurance policy that could cover all of my father’s final costs.
A few weeks after my father passed, we followed up with his employer, and were told that all employees at my father’s workplace were offered life insurance. However, we subsequently contacted the life insurance company used by my father’s employer, and were told that my father’s policy had lapsed before he got sick. As such, my brothers and I again covered the final expenses of a family member all by ourselves.
The passing of a loved one is a trying time. Of course, there is an emotional response to losing a loved one, but there is also stress associated with funeral details and settling affairs. For instance, my brothers and I spent several days cleaning out my father’s apartment, returning his car, returning his cable boxes, and conducting all of the other tasks associated with winding up our father’s affairs. In addition, we organized his memorial service, contacted extended family members, and spent several days away from home to complete some of these tasks.
If my father had even a modest life insurance policy, this would have eliminated one of the stresses associated with the passing of a family member. My brothers and I would have worried less about how we would pay for my father’s final expenses, and could have focused on the other tasks we needed to complete. In addition, it is especially true that life insurance can help children with student loans, since my brothers with student debt would have had an easier time financially managing the situation.
I do not blame my family members for not having life insurance or failing to leave money for their final expenses. Indeed, my grandfather and father had financial issues toward the end of their lives, which depleted their savings. In addition, no one wants to think that they are going to pass anytime soon, so it is difficult to plan for end-of-life issues.
Nevertheless, life insurance can help children with student loans, and if you are a parent of a student debt borrower, you should especially consider taking out even a modest life insurance policy to cover final expenses. For many student loan borrowers, the passing of a loved one is not only a trying emotional time, but a difficult financial time as well. All parents should consider obtaining life insurance, and since life insurance can help children with student loans, parents of student debt borrowers have even more incentive to research life insurance options.