The Family Protection Checklist

1 · Know where you stand

• Write down your annual income, mortgage balance, other debts, and savings.
• Locate every life insurance policy you already have, including group coverage through work.
• Note each policy's coverage amount, premium, and who the beneficiaries are.
• Check: would your group coverage follow you if you changed jobs?

2 · The DIME check (Debt, Income, Mortgage, Education)

Add these four numbers. That's a rule-of-thumb estimate of the coverage your family may need:

• Debt: everything besides the mortgage (cards, autos, student loans).
• Income: your annual income × the years your family would need it replaced (10 is a common start).
• Mortgage: your remaining balance.
• Education: what you'd want set aside for each child's schooling.
• Compare the total to the coverage you actually have. Any gap is your conversation starter.

3 · Paperwork in one place

• Policies, wills, and beneficiary paperwork gathered into one folder (paper or digital).
• A one-page list of accounts (bank, retirement, insurance) with institution names.
• Guardianship wishes for minor children written down.
• Your spouse or a trusted person knows WHERE this folder lives.

4 · Beneficiary hygiene

• Every policy and retirement account has BOTH a primary and a contingent beneficiary.
• Updated after every major life event: marriage, divorce, births, deaths.
• No minor children named directly as beneficiaries (ask a specialist about trust or custodial options).
• Names and spellings match legal documents.

5 · Questions to ask a licensed specialist

• “Am I overpaying for the coverage I already have?”
• “Term or permanent, which actually fits our situation?”
• “What living benefits could we add, coverage we can use while alive?”
• “What happens if my health changes before we put coverage in force?”
• “Should we look at final-expense coverage for our parents?”