In all of my years helping families make decisions as a financial advisor, I have witnessed my fair share of unfortunate situations. One story in particular is worth sharing.
We once had a client who was the proprietor of an established small business. He was married and had three young children with bright futures on the horizon. Unfortunately, my client passed away very young and quite unexpectedly.
Aside from the obvious emotional pain stemming from losing a loved one, our client's family was also burdened with figuring out how to support themselves financially. Against our advice, he had not purchased a life insurance policy, because he had assumed the value of his business would support his family for the rest of their lives. This turned out not to be the case when his business sold for much less than he had hoped.