How much life insurance should you get on your stay-at-home spouse?

Many households have a spouse or partner that stays home. Does that mean he or she does not work? Not a chance. Kids require a ton of time and effort. Then you have all kinds of domestic chores, to keep the household running smoothly. Plus meetings with the various vendors – landscapers, accountants, etc. – that keep the estate in tip-top shape. Even small estates need management help.

So how much life insurance should be carried on your Stay-At-Home-CEO?

There are many formulas for assessing finances and calculating benefits. With little difficulty, you can find one that works for you. But the NUMBER ONE factor in this decision is this: give yourself the money needed to support a healthy mourning period.

Think about it. The tragic, untimely death of your spouse or life partner will probably be the most devastating loss you will suffer. If you have ever experienced the death of a loved one, you know the pain and suffering involved. With a partner, magnify it by 10. You will need time to heal and grow.

And the kids! They will have lost one of the two most important adults in their life. Don’t make them feel the loss of their only other pillar – you – because you want to head back to work ASAP.
They will need you to be there for them more than ever.

Give yourself the money needed to pay your bills, and make sure money is not a problem, for as long as your family needs to regroup and rebuild. That will take as much time and tears as it does.

Sufficient life insurance will not fill that hole in your life, but it will buy you the time needed to work around it.