Photos by Kristen Loken
We did this photo shoot last year in our backyard, and realized I’d never shared the photos. Such a fun shoot! Click through to see all the images.
Family Photos with a Canoe
Photos by Kristen Loken
We did this photo shoot last year in our backyard, and realized I’d never shared the photos. Such a fun shoot! Click through to see all the images.
This is so timely! My husband is leaving his job, and that is our only life insurance. Any ETA on availability in California?
It can’t come fast enough, right? Last I heard, it could honestly happen any day now. How about I promise to share an update as soon as it happens?
Thank you! That would be great!
Hi Deanna! Ladder is available in California and offers policies that range from $100k to $8M. We don’t charge policies fees (: You can read more about our story here: https://medium.com/ladderlife/love-in-action-268fa3913f08
You can also head over to ladderlife.com/quote to get a quote and fill out our quick application!
Hi Deanna, Brittney here from Haven Life. We launched in CA last week. (Yay!) We’d love to have you check us out if you haven’t secured coverage already.
We signed up for whole life 28 years ago and have been paying the premiums ever since…I don’t really even know what the policy covers. I do know that if I stop paying, I lose that coverage and all of the money spent. Any ideas how to deal with this? Term life used to be considered a no no.
Oh that’s such a good question. Let me ask around and see if I can find any advice. It’s interesting that you mention term life was considered a no no 28 years ago. At the time I bought insurance, I was told to avoid whole life insurance. I wonder what happens with the insurance agency that changes the advice people are being given?
We just met with our financial planner this morning and it was noticed that we were under covered. We put our plan together 10 years ago and forgot about it…well now 2 more kids later, and a different set of needs….we need to get additional term life. Thanks for sharing Ill be looking in to this today!
$1M for $60 a month?! I pay $58 for $150,000 and I’m young and healthy. Definitely going to check this out, thank you.
We also have policies on our kids. They are riders on my husband’s policy. They are only $10,000 per child, but that would eliminate the worry if something happened to them and we had to come up with burial costs. It’s awesome piece of mind.
PEACE of mind!
My father and brother both died when I was a teenager so I was very aware of how expensive funeral costs can be. Even though we were still in college when we got married, my husband and I have always had life insurance (at my insistence). At the time, I knew that we wouldn’t want to be buried so far from home and transporting a body across the country is crazy expensive! Now we are settled with 4 kids and last year when our ten year term insurance ran out, I made sure we locked in to a 20 year term at a good price while we are still healthy (and under 40). My father was only 38 and thankfully had good life insurance through his work, but I have always been acutely aware that my life would have gone in a very different direction if that had not been the case. Grieving is a hard enough process without worrying about how you are going to be able to provide for your family.
Pre planned funeral expenses or unexpected funerals:
First, know that -all- funeral expenses need to be paid 100% upfront, before they will begin.
If you haven’t had to plan a funeral, it’s an extremely difficult experience to accomplish during such an emotional time, and the funeral home “understands” this. The “average” cost in CA is quoted at between $7k and $10k… having done two in the last 5 years let me tell you that number is low, even for a direct burial and or cremation.
Something that cost absolutely nothing is *pre-gathering* all important papers, birth certificates, military records, marriage certificates, pension plans, savings accounts, insurance policies, mortgage papers, any and all bank or money managed accounts, passwords and user names, any and all of your specific records that will in any way be needed to transfer funds from your estate to a spouse or children or wherever… all of those are very difficult to find in an emotional state -especially if you have no idea where to begin looking. The longer it takes to gather these papers, the more your costs may increase.
Caution tells us to “prepare” and set up plans, pre paid, with the director of our choosing. Having been involved with my husband’s grandparents funerals several years back, we were completely surprised to learn that although they had “complete expenses” locked in and paid for at the funeral home and cemetery, there were things that “complete” didn’t cover, such as “opening and closing the gravesite”, which for each of them, came in just under $1,000.
There can be other surprises, such as the need for sending certain agencies certified official Death Certificates, Military Records, etc., all of which cost – a Death Cert. runs about $15, but when you need 4-5 of them, that can cost someone on limited income stress. Even the timing of a funeral can change the cost. Weekend funerals are much more costly than those during the workweek. If a death needs autopsy, that will cost. If you need to wait for family to come in from out of town or any other reason– each day or “storage” is going to run you upwards of $150 per day, and so on. Any police investigations may also cost and or take funds (first) from an insurance policy or inheritance. Lawyers, and legal fees can happen. Transferring the remains from point A (where the death takes place) to B (where the body is stored) to C (funeral home) to D the Church) to E (the gravesite) will each cost you a fee, some that may not be covered in a prepaid contract.
Short version: Read and reread your contract(s) -extremely important during an unexpected death where you may not be clear headed or very emotional (It’s a good idea to have a trusted friend accompany you and read with you for clarity and red flags). Check for time limitations within the contract that will nullify certain costs or services at the time of death or after a certain date in the future, and when planning or pre-planning always insist on a detailed list of services and costs.
Oh my goodness – those pictures are wonderful!
LifeHaven has a great website – fun to play with.
We bought a 20 year term policy with Northwestern Mutual right before our daughter was born. It’s relatively small but we wanted something that was not dependent on whether we were employed. We always max out the employer-offered coverage (even though it’s often only 1-2 times salary, almost all policies will allow many multiples of that from your own pocket). We’ll drop the term once the kids are out of college.
Buying insurance was incredibly easy but I got irritated with the endless sales calls offering financial advice.
And probably more important, being certain to have wills, living wills and durable powers of attorney for health services care & finances for both parents. I’m always amazed by the number of parents I know who have no will.
Though we do have life insurance through my husband’s job and independently, this is a much needed reminder to update policies while we are still under 45!
Your family photos are always so creative and make me wish I had a bigger brood! Love the theme & color coordination in these (which really pops against all the green!). Gorgeous!
For many years I had a “traditional” garden but then moved to an area with very acidic soil and other hurdles to gardening. I really miss my garden. This year I have decided to try container gardening but am nervous I will mess something up. After scouring the internet and Pinterest I came across your post. THANK YOU! Your step by step directions are straight to the point and I am feeling much more confident. I am certain other readers are roo.