Do I really need life insurance?

While this question is better answered by your financial advisor - the short answer is generally yes, if you have others who are financially dependent upon you. In other words, if you died and your spouse and/or kids were relying on your income to stay afloat, then you would need life insurance to cover the shortfall until they can reach financial independence. That is why many people get life insurance policies with a death benefit to replace years of income (and maybe pay off all existing debts plus estimated college/education costs). Once again, this is a question best answered by your financial advisor, but that is the common practice (especially among my younger clients). Of course, if you already have millions in the bank, don’t need the liquidity, and/or have no one financially dependent upon you, then that answer will change.

Thanks to the new tax bill, very few will be susceptible to the Federal Estate Tax as the Federal exemption amount now sits at $11.2 million (effectively $22.4 million for married couples). Unfortunately, for those of you domiciled in Massachusetts, there’s another tax you have to worry about – the state’s Estate Tax