With the recent disastrous and devastating events in the Hawkes Bay, Auckland and Northland we’ve all been reminded that terrible things can and do happen. Our thoughts are with those who have been impacted. It got us thinking about the things you need in place to make things a little easier when terrible things happen.
It’s not easy to consider life once you’re gone, and neither is planning for the day you leave your loved ones behind. A financial plan can be an important step in making your passing that bit easier on your family, ensuring they have access to important information and documents after you’re gone. With a recession looming over New Zealand and given the recent natural disasters, there has never been a time that a legacy checklist/financial plan has been more vital.
Legacy financial planning allows you to create a comprehensive plan that reflects your values, preserves your wealth, provides for your loved ones, minimizes conflict, and leaves a lasting impact on the world. By taking the time to create a legacy financial plan, you can ensure that your financial legacy reflects your priorities and makes a difference in the lives of those you care about.
As we said, planning for the day we all dread is never easy and can be quite overwhelming, which is why we wanted to provide a helpful guide on how you can prepare your legacy checklist:
1.Determine what information you need to include: Start by creating a list of all the information and documents that you think would be helpful for your loved ones to have access to in the event of your passing. This might include things like your will, life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and important contacts.
2.Create or update your will: If you’ve gone through any major life changes since last updating your will, like having more children, getting married or divorced, or buying a house then you’ll need to make updates. You can write your own will online and at an affordable price at myfootprint.co.nz/If you die without a will your assets get divided up according to New Zealand Law. This can also be a long drawn out process.
3.Do you have Life Insurance and is it up to date: Life insurance will provide financial protection and peace of mind to your loved ones in the event of your death. This can help in covering end-of-life expenses such as funeral costs, help pay off outstanding debts, or replace the income that you generated to keep food on the table and pay the bills. At Pinnacle Life we offer life cover from as little as $15.60 per month. If you already have a policy, it is important to review your level of cover - our needs change as we move through life when we start a family, buy a house, get married, etc. It is important to have a level of cover that will support all the things you may have to leave behind.
4.Plan for your digital assets: Consider what will happen to your online accounts, such as email and social media, after your death. Make a plan for how you want these accounts to be handled.
Do you have disability or Critical Illness cover? As we saw with the recent natural disasters, things can change very quickly. Disability cover can be added to your life cover and provide the peace of mind that if your life does change forever due to disability, you will receive a lump sum payment in advance of your life cover to help make things a little easier. Critical Illness cover provides a lump sum payment if you suffer from one of the specified conditions. Both can be used to either pay for medical bills, including alternative treatments that may not be covered by health insurance, or spending time with your family ticking off your bucket list.
Creating a legacy checklist can take some time, but it can provide peace of mind for both you and your loved ones. By following these steps and including all the relevant information, you can create a comprehensive and helpful guide for your loved ones to follow.
If you’re unsure what insurance cover is suitable for you, our advice tool can give you personal advice on how much you might need, and you can work out how much it will cost in just a few seconds with our quote tool.
