DisabilityMobility.com

Life insurance offers two important benefits. The first benefit is that it protects your loved ones against the financial consequences of an unexpected death. The second advantage is that it provides living benefits.

The financial effects of death can be devastating. When you lose a spouse, parent, child, sibling or grandparent, the emotional turmoil can be extremely severe. Yet, the financial repercussions can be even more overwhelming than the loss itself. With no life insurance, surviving family members are often thrust into a position of acute financial hardship. Not only are they are left dealing with the loss of a future income, but they must also handle the immediate outlay of finances demanded by the death and burial expenses that have been unexpectedly generated.

Looking at mortality statistics will show you that a large number of people die every year, before reaching a normal life expectancy. What if the deceased is a breadwinner and they die prematurely? The consequences are tragic in so many ways. Survivors are not only forced to deal with intense heartache, but they must also face some significant financial consequences, as well. They must figure out how to meet daily living expenses, minus one household income.

Of course, the cost of a funeral can be heavy, but there are other expenses to consider, as well. An executor's fees and expenditures involved with estate administration, for one. Outstanding debts such as car loans, mortgages, credit card balances, promissory notes, medical expenses, death taxes, and federal taxes, must still be paid.

Also, consider the future security of loved ones. Living expenses, mortgage payments, and children to raise and educate, are only a few of the concerns, but in the end, it doesn't matter what financial obligations are left behind. The bottom line is bills must be paid, and that takes money. If you want to guarantee your family does not suffer through the financial devastation a premature death can generate, then you must make plans now, and ensure they have adequate funds available.

There could well be a time during which it may be difficult for the surviving spouse to work. Survivor's blackout period is also a consideration. This is the time during which social security stops paying the surviving spouse, because dependent children are no longer a factor. The surviving spouse's retirement is also something that needs to be factored into the equation. Actually, life insurance is a way of estate building, because it can generate an immediate estate at a time when it is most needed.

Life insurance also supplies living benefits, as some types of permanent policies offer a cash benefit. In addition to the death settlement, they accrue a cash value, and this cash value belongs to the policyholder. Some permanent policies also permit withdrawals from the cash benefit, and these can be used for any reason the policyholder chooses. The policyholder can also take out loans from the insurance company, by using the policy's cash value as loan collateral.

Installing a stair lift in your house is a good way to extend the quantity of years you or a loved one with mobility impairment can live in your own home. They are great if you or a friend or family member have health restrictions that make it tough to go up and down stairs.

I was out with an older woman last week showing her property (I am a real estate agent). She already had bad knees, and had to take the steps slowly. One of the things she was searching for was whether her new property would accommodate a master on the main level ( if it did not already have one ) and a step lift on the steps.

I presumed she'd just need to take a look at one-level houses, but each home she looked at had a staircase in it. One home had a wonderful Y-shaped staircase featured in the lounge that split off in 2 directions. One home had a precarious old staircase leading to the completed basement, and one home had a standard fashioned 2-level staircase that went to the upstairs. My customer told me this wasn't precisely what she was on the lookout for and asserted she would "know it when she saw it." It had been hard for her to work out online whether the houses she had an interest in would accommodate a step lift because most realtors don't feature the steps in their Multiple Listing Service photos.

This customer gave me a little bit of an education about what is needed to install a step lift. Fundamentally , she was looking out for a long, straight run of steps from the 1st to the second floor. We really found it in one of the new construction homes we looked at, so they are definitely out there. Stairlifts can be installed on other sorts of staircases, of course, but as with everything in home remodeling, the more you have to do, the more it's going to cost.

If you are building or buying a home that you want to grow old in, it's a good idea to contemplate in advance how the home can be modified to suit your needs when you are older. Some things - like wide hallways that can accommodate wheelchairs - are nice features you might want to have anyway.

Other things, like grab bars in the bath tub, are easy to add on later if they become necessary.

What's not as straightforward to plan for is if you'll need wheelchair access to upstairs rooms of the house. Even if you are not in a wheelchair, going up and down the steps could be a challenge for many seniors.

You might decide that putting a stair lift in is a great way to handle the situation.

A stair lift runs on a track that is installed on the side of the stairs and plugged into the wall for power. Your stairs must be against the wall or have a reinforced railing to accommodate the full weight of a person on a seat, and the track along the wall. A stair lift can help you bring groceries and laundry up and down the stairs, too. You can bring pretty much anything you can carry up an down the stairs with a stairlift, provided you don't exceed its safe weight.

Though they can be costly to install, many seniors are so cheerful about the idea of having the facility to remain in their own homes as they age, they are more than prepared to pay the price to have their home upgraded to accommodate their changing ability to get around.