The question to ask yourself is, Would my death leave anyone in a financial bind? For Doug McLeod of Minneapolis, the answer was yes. Like many people, McLeod, 30, got serious about life insurance in preparation for the birth of his first child, locking down a $1 million policy in April. If he should meet an untimely end, he explains, “I want to let my wife stay home with my daughter and not have to uproot her life completely.”
Once you become a parent, any adult in your house earning income should have life insurance coverage that will last until your youngest kid gets through college. And in a family without a lot of money saved, a stay-at-home parent may need a small policy, to cover child care costs that would be created by that parent’s absence.
