Not a pleasant topic. You might not wish to continue reading, and I understand.
A few years ago (well, almost 6 years to be more specific), my dh lost a close friend in death. He was the same age as my dh, who was 28 at the time. It was a very unexpected blow. It caused my dh to start thinking about things that he definitely didn't want to: death. And life insurance and funeral arrangements.
Not even two years after his friends death, my step-father passed away after dealing with cancer. Within a few months of this my dh lost one of his grandfathers in death. It just brings it to the forefront of our mind how fragile life is- how uncertain. My dh made the arrangements for what would happen in the event of his death. It's not something that I like to think about but at the same time, we need to be prepared because we just never know.
Just last month a 'friend' from the online community passed away from cancer and it again got my husband and I thinking about what we would do if one of us were to pass away. It isn't a lovely thought, it is downright sad and depressing. But it is something that I think needs to be thought about and discussed- and long before it is 'needed'.
Something that I have thought about is the funeral process. When my great-grandmother passed away in 2002, I had no idea about final expense insurance or about funeral insurance policies. Of course, I wasn't part of the group of family members that took care of all the arrangements so I wouldn't have even been paying attention to those things. Something that I think, now, I should probably at least know about. But as I get older, these are some things that I need to think about. My dh tells me, "I've taken care of everything." But really, I don't know how it all works and I think I should.
I know that there is life insurance through MetLife that we can use to help ease the worry of financial strain in the case of an untimely death (when is there ever a 'timely' death??). I used to think that life insurance was only for those who were in dangerous jobs or situations or those with a lot of money (not sure why on that last one). But it isn't just for those people. It is actually for those who are left behind. The insurance would be helpful if a family member were to pass away- it would allow more time for the grieving perhaps- by allowing the added strain/stress of money issues to be less.
I do apologize if this topic is something that brings sadness to any of those who read this post.
