Your privacy is fully protected. This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter will be stored, transmitted, or saved to any server. When you close this window, all information will disappear unless you decide to share it with someone you choose. Sharing your results is always your choice — nothing is sent automatically, ever.
Who is completing this assessment?
Select the option that best describes your situation. This shapes the questions and the results.
Primary earner (Married/Partnered)
You are the main income source for the household, or you work full-time outside the home
Homemaker / caregiver
You manage the home and family — your spouse or partner is the primary earner
We both work
Both spouses have meaningful income outside the home
Primary earner (Single)
You are the sole adult responsible for your household's financial security
Step 2 of 7 — income at risk
Your household income
Estimates are fine. No one is checking — but more accuracy will give you a better assessment. If you leave out information, the results will be inaccurate.
Primary Earner's income — at risk if you cannot work
$280,000
Employed (W-2 / salary)
Self-employed / business owner
Both / mixed
Self-employed and business owners face a risk most people never see coming
Many business owners count their business as a major asset — and rely on it as part of their family's financial security. This is one of the most dangerous assumptions in estate planning.
Most businesses do not survive the death or serious illness of the owner. Employees leave — taking contacts, relationships, and institutional knowledge. Clients follow people, not companies. Without the owner, revenue collapses quickly and most business owners do not have a spouse or other family member trained who can step in when a health emergency arises.
Read more about why the business usually cannot save the family ▾
The business cannot feed the family. Unless there is professional management, systems, and transferable client relationships that run without you — the income stops when you stop. The family cannot step in to run it. Employees have no obligation to stay.
The business cannot be sold quickly at fair value. Selling takes 6–24 months under ideal conditions. Under distress — sudden death, illness, family in crisis — buyers pay less. The family may recover a fraction of what the business was worth.
A buy-sell agreement changes this — but almost no one has one. A properly structured buy-sell agreement funded by life insurance creates an immediate buyer at a fair price. Without it, neither outcome happens. If you do not have a buy-sell agreement in place, your business should not be counted as a reliable asset in a crisis.
For this calculation: use your personal draw or distributions — not gross business revenue. Your income is what is at risk. The business value is a separate and much more uncertain question.
Include all regular income. If self-employed, use your personal draw — not gross business revenue.
Spouse's income — at risk if they cannot work
$0
If your spouse has little or no employment income, please read the section below — their unpaid contributions have significant replacement cost.
Your spouse's work has real financial value — even if it is unpaid
If your spouse manages the home, cares for children, or handles household operations, replacing those contributions after a death or disability costs real money — immediately. Enter approximate hours per week for each role your spouse fills.
Estimated annual replacement cost
Based on published LA/OC market rates · Care.com 2026 · Care Homecare LA 2025
$0
Hide this section ▴
My spouse also manages the home — add replacement value ▾
Who depends on your income?
Children at home
None
1
2
3+
Aging parents or family members
None
Yes, some
Yes, significant
Outstanding debts others would carry
None
Mortgage
Multiple
Step 3 of 7 — monthly expenses
What does your household spend each month?
These expenses don't pause when income stops. The mortgage, car payments, tuition, and utilities all arrive on schedule regardless of what happened last month.
$6,500
$800
$2,200
$2,000
$3,500
$3,400
Total monthly expenses
$18,400
These expenses don't pause when income stops — they arrive on the same schedule regardless of what happened last month.
Step 4 of 7 — assets and liquidity
Your assets — and the ones that can actually pay next month's bills
Assets and liquid assets are very different things. Home equity looks like wealth — but can it pay your mortgage, medical bills, or funeral costs in 30 days?
A stroke, disability, or serious illness creates the same crisis as death — income stops, bills continue, and home equity cannot be accessed quickly without selling. Plan for the living emergency, not just the death scenario.
Not liquid — real estate
$1,800,000
$620,000
Equity requires selling and moving — and typically takes 3–6 months under ideal conditions. A HELOC also requires income verification — unavailable exactly when you need it most.
$0
$0
Rental properties and investment real estate are also illiquid in a crisis — debt obligations on them continue regardless of what happened to income, and property tax burdens increase to much higher rates after the County's reassessment.
YOU HAVE VALUABLE ASSETS AND YOU SHOULD CONFER WITH YOUR ATTORNEY AND INSURANCE ADVISOR ABOUT ESTATE TAX PLANNING.
California estates over the federal exemption threshold may be subject to estate taxes. Proper planning — including irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), family limited partnerships, and strategic gifting — can significantly reduce this exposure. Your estate planning attorney can model the impact on your specific situation.
Partially liquid — retirement accounts (30–40% penalty for early access)
$850,000
Truly liquid — accessible today without penalty
$75,000
Existing life insurance
Life insurance pays within days — it is the only asset in most estates that is immediately liquid in a crisis. Kept separate because each spouse's coverage serves a different scenario.
Your coverage — death benefit on policies where you are insured
$500,000
Include term, whole life, and employer-provided coverage where you are the insured.
Spouse coverage — death benefit on policies where your spouse is insured
$0
Include all policies where your spouse is the insured — even if you own the policy.
Combined household coverage
$500,000
Important — term life insurance has limits you should understand
Term insurance pays a death benefit but builds no cash value and expires at the end of its term. If you develop a health condition before renewal, you may become uninsurable. Whole life insurance builds real, accessible cash value you can use during your lifetime — for long-term care, disability, or emergencies — and never expires as long as premiums are paid.
Liquid cash runway at current expenses
How long cash lasts before a crisis forces decisions
4.1 months
Step 5 of 7 — costs that arrive immediately
The costs that arrive in the first 90 days
These don't wait for probate, for assets to sell, or for family to gather. They arrive when your family is least prepared — and must be paid in cash.
Funeral and burial costs — California by region
Los Angeles County
Orange County
SF Bay Area
Other / statewide
Cost component
Low
Typical
High / premium
$40,000
Use the regional table above as a reference. Adjust upward for private or prestigious cemetery plots, which can add $25,000–$100,000 in LA and SF areas.
California probate fees — calculate yours
California statutory probate fees are calculated on the gross value of the estate — not net value after debts. A home worth $2,000,000 with a $1,000,000 mortgage still generates fees based on $2,000,000. Both the attorney and the executor each receive the full fee — so the total is doubled.
$2,500,000
Include real estate at full market value, accounts, retirement, business interests, and personal property. Do not subtract mortgages — the court does not. (Cal. Prob. Code §10810)
With a properly funded living trust, probate is avoided entirely. Assets in trust pass directly to beneficiaries — no court, no statutory fees, no 9–18 month timeline, no public record. This is one of the most direct financial benefits of completing your estate plan.
$80,000
In-home care in Greater LA runs $3,200–$6,400+/month. Plan for several months of overlap between rising medical costs and reduced income.
Education and childcare costs
These figures estimate total cost of attendance based on published California cost data — not quotes. Actual costs vary by school, location, and financial aid eligibility.
Enter 0 or leave blank if you have no children — no education boxes will appear.
The single parent reality — even without private school
If the primary earner dies or becomes unable to work, the other spouse immediately becomes a caregiver to both the spouse and children, or a single parent. Even families who never considered private school now face the cost of childcare, after-school supervision, and summer programs when there is a vacuum left by not having a second adult able to contribute. A parent who was previously staying home now needs income and childcare simultaneously. If you are already a single parent, you should ensure that the person chosen to be the guardian for your child/ren - as well as the healthcare agent for yourself - will have the resources to do the job. Too often, a grandparent, sibling, aunt or uncle who is chosen simply does not have the financial resources to quit work to become a caregiver, or to hire help. This is often the most overlooked cost in estate planning for families with young children — and it applies regardless of education choices.
K–12 and childcare total
$0
College total
$0
Combined education total
$0
Longest coverage window
0 yrs
Enter the number of children above to calculate your family's total education coverage need.
How many years does your family need to be protected? How many years of income should be replaced?
Enter your ages and we'll calculate meaningful reference points — then you choose. Most people choose too few years here.
Your age
Spouse / partner age
Reference points for your ages
Years until you reach 6518 years
Years until spouse reaches 6521 years
Life expectancy — your age~33 more years (to ~80)
Life expectancy — spouse age~40 more years (to ~84)
Recommended minimum coverage window21 years
Based on the younger spouse's life expectancy — not just retirement age. Your spouse will need income after retirement too. Social Security and savings help, but a coverage gap at retirement age still leaves decades of financial exposure. For families with young children, consider adding 5 years beyond the recommended minimum.
5 years
10 years
15 years
20 years
25 years
30 years
Most people choose too few years here. The recommended minimum is shown above — it is based on real financial dependency, not a feeling of comfort.
Step 6 of 7 — your financial security picture
Your family's financial picture
Everything below is calculated from what you entered — privately, on your device only.
If you cannot work
Your family still needs to cover the costs you identified:
—
Coverage gap
If your spouse cannot work or contribute
Your family still needs to cover the costs you identified:
—
Coverage gap
Note: These figures are for illustration purposes only. Your insurance professional should review your overall asset portfolio, health profile, and existing coverage before finalizing any recommendations. This tool is intended as a simplified illustration to bring some important information to the forefront for discussion; it is not a substitute for professional advice from a financial professional.
Monthly expenses
—
Liquid cash runway
—
months at current spend
Combined coverage
—
What the surviving spouse or caregiver would actually need — in the first 90 days
Funeral and immediate costs — typically $35,000–$80,000 in Southern California. Due within weeks. Cannot be paid from home equity or retirement accounts.
Monthly expenses that don't pause — mortgage, utilities, car payments, tuition, food. The bills arrive on the same schedule regardless of what happened last month.
Childcare and caregiver replacement — if one spouse, even a "not-working" spouse, becomes ill or dies, the other spouse needs paid help immediately for childcare of caregiving of the ill spouse. A single parent should ensure the necessary assets for their child's future guardians to provide care. This cost does not appear in most financial plans.
Time without pressure — the hardest decisions should not be made during the most difficult moments of your life. A safety net could be the difference between strategic decisions, or no choices. Selling a home and moving while grieving takes an emotional and financial toll; there's a reason many buyers view "probate" sales as a bargaining opportunity.
Medical costs — serious illness and disability often precede death by months or years, running up costs just as income has stopped.
If something happened to you — should your family have choices, or no choice? What is your safety net?
The question is not whether something will happen. The question is whether, when it does, the person left managing everything will have time, options, and the financial foundation to make good decisions — or whether they will be forced into whatever the calendar and the bank account allow.
That gap between having choices and having no choice is exactly what this assessment is designed to show you.
Step 7 of 7 — what to do next
Your results — and your next step
Your current safety net: approximately 4 months of liquid cash
That is how long your household can run at current expenses using money that is actually accessible today — without selling the home, liquidating retirement accounts under penalty, or borrowing. After that time passes, assets must be sold and every decision gets made under financial pressure rather than from a position of choice. If this information is distressing or the safety net seems too small to catch your family, that means you should look into the insurance and liquidity options that may be available to you as soon as you can.
So we know who this is from
This is only used to identify your results when shared. Nothing is sent until you click the button below.
Share with my estate planning attorney Recommended
For many families we work with, one or both parents may be resistant to this type of planning. This is especially common for married couples where one spouse manages finances and sees insurance as an unnecessary expense or simply thinks, "we have assets, that will be enough." This is equally true of single parents where the custodial parent and non-custodial parent may not do any planning and don't know each other's finances after separation. However, our experience from decades of experience with families like yours is that liquidity planning is the MOST IMPORTANT issue in estate planning, and we see the huge disparity in outcomes of making living trusts where liquidity planning was done, as compared to families who did not have this planning. Making a living trust without ensuring your family will have adequate funding is like buying them a car that has no gas. So we strongly recommend discussing these numbers in our meeting as part of the estate planning you are already doing with us to help your family be financially secure no matter what comes.
Share with my spouse/other family members
Copy your summary and paste it into an email to your spouse or affected family member. This tool is most effective when all affected family members run their scenario and share with each other — yours and theirs — so there can be open discussion and strategic planning about how to take care of each other. For example, if you are named to be a trustee, agent, guardian, or person with responsibility over any other loved one's well-being, wouldn't it be better to know you will have the resources to handle that responsibility when the time comes?
✓ Copied — open your email app and paste it in
Connect with a licensed insurance professional
Get an actual quote based on your age, health, and coverage need. Rates increase every year you wait — and a health diagnosis can close the door entirely. Your attorney can refer you to an experienced.
Save a copy for myself
Copy your summary to paste into an email or document for your own records. Note: premiums are higher next year, and your health today is the best it will ever be for underwriting purposes.
✓ Copied — paste it anywhere you like
Your family's financial security should not wait
There are real risks and costs that come with waiting — premiums rise every year, and a health diagnosis can close the door on coverage entirely. See exactly how waiting could affect your family.
Whole life vs term insurance explainer with cash value growth calculator and living benefits overview
Understanding your options
Term insurance protects your family. Whole life protects you — while you're still alive.
Most people know what life insurance does when you die. Far fewer understand that one type builds real, accessible wealth you can use during your lifetime — for long-term care, disability, emergencies, or retirement income.
Side-by-side comparison
Cash value growth
Living benefits
Term life insurance
Pure death benefit
Lower initial premiums
Large coverage for critical years
Simple to understand
Expires — coverage ends at term
No cash value accumulates
Cannot borrow against it
Renewal at older age is costly
No help if you become disabled
No benefit if you outlive the term
Whole life insurance
Death benefit + living asset
Permanent — never expires
Premiums are level and guaranteed
Cash value grows tax-deferred
Borrow against cash value anytime
Use for long-term care if needed
Use for disability income
Dividend-paying policies grow further
Higher premiums than term
Cash value builds slowly early on
Both types serve real purposes — the right choice depends on your situation
Term life insurance is the right tool when the risk itself has a defined end date — children's education costs, a mortgage that will be paid off, income replacement during peak earning years before retirement assets are fully built. It provides substantial coverage at lower cost during the years it matters most.
Whole life becomes more relevant when the need is permanent — estate liquidity, long-term care funding, or when health changes may make future coverage unavailable. Many well-structured plans include both.
Your licensed insurance professional can assess which structure — or combination — fits your family's specific obligations, timeline, and budget.
The question most people don't ask
What happens if I'm still alive at 75 — and I need $300,000 for long-term care — and my term policy expired 10 years ago, and I can't get new insurance because of my health? This is not a hypothetical. It is a situation that happens daily and is entirely preventable with the right decisions and planning today.
Adjust your details to see how cash value accumulates in a participating whole life policy over time. Cash value is money you own — you can borrow against it or withdraw it while you are alive.
$18,000
Whole life premiums are higher but level — they never increase
50
Cash value at year 10
$0
Available to borrow against — no questions asked
Cash value at year 20
$0
Can fund long-term care, supplement retirement, or remain as death benefit
Cash value (accessible)Death benefitTotal premiums paid
Cash value in a participating whole life policy grows through two mechanisms: guaranteed interest credited by the insurer, and annual dividends (not guaranteed but paid consistently by major insurers for over 100 years). You can borrow against this value at any time, for any reason, with no credit check and no repayment schedule required.
Whole life's cash value is not locked away until death. It is a living financial asset with multiple uses — most of which your family may urgently need before any death occurs.
Most critical
Long-term care funding
If one spouse requires nursing home, memory care, or in-home assistance, costs can reach $10,000–$15,000/month or more in California. Cash value or accelerated benefit riders can pay these costs directly, without liquidating the home or retirement accounts.
Often overlooked
Disability income bridge
If the primary earner becomes disabled and cannot work, cash value provides an immediate, borrowable income source — without a bank loan or credit check. Social Security disability typically takes 18–24 months to begin.
Tax advantage
Tax-free retirement supplement
Policy loans against cash value are not taxable income. Many clients use whole life as a supplemental retirement income stream — borrowed tax-free — that does not affect Social Security taxation thresholds.
Estate planning
Immediate liquidity for heirs
Death benefit pays within days or weeks — before probate, before asset transfers, before any court involvement. It is the only asset in most estates that is immediately liquid and passes outside of probate entirely.
Emergency access
Policy loans — no approval needed
Unlike a HELOC or bank loan, borrowing against cash value requires no application, no credit check, no income verification. The money is yours. You set the repayment terms — or choose not to repay, reducing the eventual death benefit.
Business owners
Key person and buy-sell funding
For clients who own businesses, whole life funds buy-sell agreements and key person coverage — creating a structured exit plan that doesn't depend on your family selling the business under distress.
Cash value projections are illustrative estimates based on typical participating whole life policy performance using a 4.5% dividend scale and guaranteed 3% crediting rate. Actual values depend on insurer, policy design, dividend performance, and premium payment history. Dividends are not guaranteed. This is not a policy illustration or financial advice. Review with a licensed insurance professional.
The real cost of waiting — verified term life insurance rates by age with share-with-office option
The cost of waiting — real numbers
What term life insurance actually costs — and what waiting actually costs
These are not estimates. The figures below are published market averages from Guardian Life Insurance and composite industry averages across major carriers, current as of 2025. They are for illustration only — not a quote — but they reflect what healthy people at these ages are actually paying today.
$1,000,000 — 20-year term policy, non-smoker, preferred health Guardian Life 2025
The coverage amount most estate planning attorneys recommend as a starting point for primary earners in affluent households.
Age when you apply
Monthly premium
Annual cost
vs. applying at 45
Extra cost over 20 years
Rate increase per year delayed
4.5–9.2%
Source: industry composite data
Extra cost: wait 5 years from 50
—
Same $1M coverage, same term
Cost increase age 40 → 60
—
Nearly 7× more for identical coverage
The window is open right now — and it closes without warning
A healthy 50-year-old male pays $180/month for $1M of coverage. If he waits until 55, that same policy costs $303/month — $1,476 more per year, for life. If he waits until 60, it is $466/month — a difference of $3,432 per year. Over 20 years that is $68,640 in additional premiums paid for the exact same protection. And that assumes he stays healthy. A single diagnosis between now and then can double the premium, or close the door entirely. The premium he can lock in today is the lowest it will ever be.
What "term only" really means — the expiration problem
Most people do not think about what happens when the term ends. Here is what the data shows.
If your 20-year term expires and you need to renew
A 50-year-old male who bought a 20-year term policy now faces renewal at age 70. At that age, $1M of coverage — if available — runs $1,200–$2,000+/month, compared to the $180/month he locked in at 50. More likely: he cannot get the same coverage at any price due to health. This is why estate planning attorneys increasingly recommend permanent coverage as the foundation, with term layered on top during peak earning years.
What industry data consistently shows: The majority of term life policies do not pay a death benefit — because the term ends before the insured dies, and renewal at older ages is either unaffordable or medically unavailable. Term insurance is valuable and appropriate for peak-obligation years. But it is not a permanent solution — and treating it as one leaves families exposed exactly when they are most vulnerable. (Source: LIMRA, Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association, industry aggregate data.)
Share with your estate planning team
Let your attorney present these numbers to both of you — together
In many couples, one partner is more resistant to insurance planning than the other. This is especially common when one spouse manages finances and sees insurance as an unnecessary expense. Having your attorney discuss these issues and numbers in a meeting — rather than raising it as a conversation between spouses — removes the interpersonal dynamic entirely. The numbers speak for themselves.
Choose how you would like to proceed. Nothing is sent without your action.
Send to my estate planning attorney's office Recommended
Your attorney can review your gap analysis and these rate figures with you and recommend further steps. This is an integral part of your estate plan. And some of our clients find it far easier to have their attorney present the liquidity issue than to raise the issue themselves to their other family members.
Share with my spouse or family member
Forward the summary to your spouse or affected family member so they can review these numbers with you privately. The best use of this tool is when each affected family member completes their own assessment and then can discuss it together and choose the path that protects each other. Sometimes seeing verified, sourced data — rather than hearing it as a request from a family member or partner — is what shifts the conversation. The risks are real. The gap is real. The math will need a response and the time to do it is now, as part of an integrated and complete estate plan.
Data sources and disclaimers: Monthly premium figures shown are published market averages for $1,000,000 of 20-year term life coverage for non-smokers in a Preferred health classification, derived from Guardian Life Insurance published rate data (guardianlife.com/life-insurance/term-rates, 2025) and composite industry averages across multiple major carriers including Brighthouse Financial, Lincoln Financial, Mutual of Omaha, Pacific Life, Protective, and Prudential. Annual rate increase estimates are based on published actuarial industry data.
Important: actual rates vary significantly based on health, underwriting classification, and carrier and must be discussed with your insurance professional. These figures are for illustration purposes only and do not constitute a quote, guarantee of insurability, or insurance advice. Individuals with any health history, tobacco use, or high-risk occupations may receive materially different rates or may be declined coverage. Your licensed insurance professional can provide a personalized illustration based on your actual profile.