Comedian Bill Engvall has made a comedy career out of people doing and saying stupid things with his “here’s your sign” jokes. But as a life insurance agent, I am always amazed at people that can afford life insurance and a will, but simply don’t want to take care of their loved ones. There are those people that walk among us that simply think they either are not going to die and if they do, just don’t care what a mess they will leave behind for their family and loved ones.

Clearly, this is not a minority in the United States. According to LIMRA, Life Insurance and Market Research Association, over 30% of US households do not have life insurance. A staggering 55% of US households or 58 million people admit they do not have enough life insurance and need more. Not only are average US families not buying enough life insurance but those households that do have life insurance have had their face amounts decrease over $30,000 average since 2004. The most alarming number comes from a survey stating that 70% of US adults admit they would have serious financial problems if the primary breadwinner were to die within just a few months including 30% of households admitting their problem would be immediate. This is over 100 million people despite life insurance premiums are at a 30 year low.

When it comes to having a last will and testament, the numbers are even higher. According to a LexisNexis survey, over 55% of US adults die without a will in place. This is despite the increase in affordable online will options. The numbers are even higher among African-American adults at 68% and Hispanics at a staggering 74%. This means out of the 243 million US adults that approximately over 133 million adults have no will in place. There are an estimated 2.5 million deaths in the US annually. This means 1.37 million people have their estates or belongings tied up in probate and a judge, they have never met, decides who gets their belongings, possibly their children and their beloved pets.

All of this mess can be avoided by taking the time to secure enough life insurance that your loved ones will be financially taken care of and a last will and testament to be sure your children and pets go to the right person as well as your belongings and money. Don’t let a judge make this decision for you. After all it is your decision to take care of those you love and care for.

“We never understand how little we need in this world until we know the loss of it”.– James M. Barrie

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Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, grandfather of 1, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, employee benefit specialist, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger, author and team leader with over 29 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.