Do You Have a Legacy Gift for Your Family?

This past year a family very close to the Kirkwood Agency lost a loved one. It was very unexpected and came as a shock to all. When I asked if I could share their story, they asked that the names be changed for privacy and because it’s still very difficult to talk about. We will call their loved one, Jay.

Jay never met a stranger, was loved by everyone and was a huge member of his church. He brought several people to Christ in his short time here on earth and a good number of those individuals were there the day of Jay’s service to celebrate his life. It was a beautiful (standing room only) service filled with tears but also laughter. Jay was a son, a brother, a husband, a dad and a great friend to all who crossed his path. Though I only had the opportunity to meet Jay once, I left the service that morning feeling as if I had known him for years.

Jay left behind a wife and a son. His son is the spitting imagine of him, head to toe. We’ll call him Little Jay or LJ. Though Jay and his wife both worked, Jay was blessed to be able to take LJ to work with him often. They spent a lot of time together and were like peas and carrots, just the best of friends. Fishing, hunting, you name it, Jay packed in years of father son time and taught LJ all sorts of ‘boy’ stuff.

It’s not easy to pull something positive out of a tragedy like losing a loved one. It’s hard to adjust to life without them. Changing your daily routines, and in this case becoming a single mom overnight. That’s not even mentioning the financial issues left to deal with.

One positive thing that we do know is that Jay was known to save money and thankfully, he had a Legacy Gift. What’s a Legacy Gift? It’s a Life Insurance policy. Why call it a Legacy Gift instead of a Life Insurance Policy? Well because that’s exactly what it is. A gift that you leave behind for the legacy you have made, your family and that’s exactly what Jay did. Because he had set up a Legacy Gift, his wife was able to quit her job and stay home with their son. That was one thing that was important to Jay and his wife, was for one of them to be able to stay home with LJ until it was time for him to start kindergarten. LJ and his mom are set financially for the next several years because Jay set up a gift for the legacy he left behind.

I know talking about Life insurance is not an easy thing to do but it’s important. If you have a “Legacy Gift” outside of work in place, that’s great news! If you don’t, call in and make an appointment. We will be happy to sit down with you and go over what options are available for you. Is one of the reasons you don’t have Life Insurance is because you may have heard that it’s too expensive? Well I have good news for you. In most cases, it’s really not that expensive at all.

To give you an idea, click here, Life Happens – Calculate Your Needs and it will give you an overview of what your cost could be.  

Losing Jay was extremely difficult and we want to thank the family that let us share their story. His legacy will live on through his son, with the help of the Legacy Gift he had in place before he passed. Continued prayers for peace and healing. May the many memories you have of ‘Jay’ bring you peace.