The Family Plan Check

Ten short questions about your household return a will-or-trust answer, a life insurance range sized to the people who depend on you, and an umbrella limit with the reason for it. You also get a short list of things to check on your home and auto policies, and every number comes with the arithmetic behind it.

How the estimates work

• Will or trust. Owning a home or a rental, or having children under 18, points to a living trust; otherwise a will. A special-needs beneficiary, a blended family expecting disagreement, assets abroad, leaving out a spouse or child, or an estate over $10 million points to an attorney first.
• Life insurance adds your debts, your mortgage, your income for the years your family would need it, $50,000 to $150,000 of education for each child under 18 and final expenses, then subtracts life insurance you already own. That is the DIME method.
• Umbrella. Recommended when your net worth passes $250,000, or with a teen driver, a pool or trampoline, a dog, a rental property or a household income over $150,000. The limit is at least your net worth, rounded up to whole millions, since umbrellas are usually sold in $1 million steps. We never guess a price.
• Home and auto come back as questions to check against your policy paperwork, such as whether the dwelling limit matches the rebuild cost, because we have not seen your policy.

Estimates, not advice and not quotes. A licensed agent confirms insurance with real quotes; an attorney is the person to confirm anything legal. Own a business? The Business Owner Plan Check adds key person and buy-sell coverage.