There are all kinds of things on my separation and divorce to-do list – all things related to splitting apart two lives, which is hard for so many reasons. I alternate between determination to sort it out RIGHT NOW so I can move on and feeling like the whole thing is exhausting and something I’d just rather not deal with at all.

Which, of course, is not how it works.

Some of the things are things I want to do – find financial freedom and live based on a budget that I have more control over, find a new place to live and create a home that reflects me and me alone (with a sprinkle of small boys, I suppose), and get used to a new routine. Some are things I don’t want to do – finicky things like the paperwork and appointments involved in separating finances and accounts and all that. But it must be done.

This to-do list currently mostly exists in my head, but it’s starting to get put down on paper in various places (I’ve gone back to being a paper agenda sort of girl, and I love it in a retro, feeling-more-organized sort of way). Little things are popping up as I go along and I am reminded of all the things that have to be done in order to end a marriage. At times the list feels endless.

One of the things I hadn’t thought about was life insurance – I suppose because it is (hopefully) not as immediate a need, and because when it comes to things like life insurance, my brain sort of shorts out. But it came to my attention in the context of a promotion TD Insurance is doing, and sometimes that’s the best way to bring something that has been on the back burner of a to-do list closer to the front. So let’s talk about that, because I could use all the help I can get.

Some things I didn’t know about life insurance

My dad, as someone who used to work in the insurance business, will probably cringe at some of this, but here are some things I didn’t know about life insurance:

• You can actually get life insurance for as little as $1 per day.
• A major life event – getting married, having a baby, divorce (ahem) – is often what prompts people to shop for life insurance.
• There is no tax on life insurance benefits.

Some things I sort of knew about life insurance

I have some life insurance through work, but that’s mostly a click-the-button thing when I re-enroll each year rather than a thoughtful calculation about what’s needed. We also have separate life insurance that we bought when I was about six months pregnant with Connor, and that’s mostly what I will need to deal with. (What does one do about that when getting divorced, anyway?) But I do remember some things about insurance from that process, such as:

• Term life insurance is one of the most affordable types.
• It can do more than just pay for funeral costs and short-term expenses – it can also help with ongoing living expenses, pay off outstanding debt, support children’s future education and continue a family business.

If someone depends on you financially, having life insurance is one of those things you should have. And while in the (hopefully) near future I will no longer be the sole financial support for my children, they will still, for a variety of reasons, depend on me financially. I want them to be free to play and learn and grow up to do whatever they want – fly a jet, drive a fire truck, or anything else.

I, like so many others, have my own financial baggage from childhood and really don’t want financial stress to be a factor in my new, hopefully less stressful life.

Some things I am now thinking about related to life insurance

The main thing I’m now thinking about is that I need to sort this out. I need to check it off my to-do list so it’s not hanging over my head, and I need to be confident that my boys will be financially secure if anything happens to me, because I’m not willing to rely on anyone else to be that back-up.

What to know about TD Insurance

I’m going to do a little bit more research about what to do about life insurance, and if this is on your to-do list I hope some of this info about TD Insurance will help you, too:

• Their insurance advisors don’t work on commission. Their focus is on finding the right insurance fit for you.
• TD has a free life insurance needs analysis to help you figure out how much coverage you need and what it will cost.
• They have a contest! Until November 13, you can be entered to win a FitBit Flex activity tracker by calling TD Insurance at 1-888-756-5666 for a free life insurance needs analysis.
• Remember, you can’t clone yourself:

You can get a quote and apply online or call TD Insurance at 1-888-756-5666.

I’m going to do that. Are you?

 

This post is brought to you by TD Insurance but the opinions and images are my own. For more information, please visit www.tdinsurance.com/termlife.