Nicholls Stevens Financial Services

PROTECTING THE FAMILY

In 1950s when the “Man from the Pru” used to call, the first need he would identify within families was the need for life assurance if the “traditional bread winner” died. Life has moved on, the man from the Pru is long gone and the traditional family structure has disappeared with him. However, the need to protect family members is just as strong as ever.

Today the only life cover which is regularly taken out is cover to insure that the mortgage is paid off if one of the partners should die.  This is essential but the loss of an income within a family unit can have long term financial repercussions. Simple life assurance is cheap if you are say age 35 you can insure your life for £100,000 for 20 years at a premium of around   £7.00  per month.

If such cover is written in a trust for the benefit of the partner it means that capital is immediately available for the family without waiting for probate

If you have existing life assurance policies, it is worth getting the policy reviewed, it may be that, subject to your health, you could obtain the same cover at a cheaper cost. Also, it is vital to insure that the policy is subject to a trust otherwise the benefits will be added to your estate, potentially subject to Inheritance Tax and unavailable to your family until after probate has been obtained.