Help with life insurance / creating a will

[gebs]

Hi all,

My dh and I have been married for a few years and have just had dd, so we need to sort out some life insurance but I don't know where to start. We own a house and rentals (all with mortgages), both work full time in own separate jobs to the rentals (they pay for themselves with the rent covering the mortgage).

My question is what brands of life insurance are the best ones out there? What cover do you tend to cover, just the outstanding amount on the mortgage(s)? If you move and upsize do you inform your insurance to up your cover? Does the cover become a set amount and you are locked in for x years or is it like car insurance where you can change providers each year if the price comes unreasonable? I know you can either get a lump sum at any time or an amount that decreases as time goes on. I'd be interested to hear from anyone that can run though the basics of life insurance please, especially if you have rentals.

We also need to create a will and sort that side out, is this a case of just going to the solicitor and running through our wishes? Or is there any another way?

Thanks in advance

Hi OP, firstly congratulations on the birth of your daughter! Making a Will is certainly a sensible first step. I'm a professional will writer and in your circumstances recommend that for the time being, you put into place simple mirror wills which will include provision for guardianship of your DC in the very unlikely event that you and your DH were both to pass away before they're 18. This will be future proofed to include any more children you may have.

It would also include a trust, so that if your DC are under 21/25, their money is invested sensibly during that period, with some being accessible to pay for their maintenance etc.

So far as insurance is concerned, I usually refer my clients to a few trusted IFAs who would be able to give targeted advice. It's important to ensure that any life insurance is put into discretionary trusts. This means that they're held outside the estate and are not subject to inheritance tax on the first death.

If you'd like any more info, let me know 😊