One of the saddest stories that you will read in 2010
The following story is the worst nightmare for a financial adviser like myself and the worst possible outcome for a family that suffers a loss.
On 2 January 2010, ARW client, Sergeant Brett Meredith’s life support system was turned off, just two days after he went out for a few drinks with his fellow NT Police colleagues to bring in the New Year at a nightclub in Katherine. The 39 year old father of five was allegedly bashed after he tried to break up a brawl whilst he was off-duty.
The incident is now subject to a court case for manslaughter after a police reviewed CCTV footage and received over 55 statements from witnesses.
You can only imagine the shock that Brett’s family and friends experienced when they heard about his death. He was super fit, didn’t smoke, moderate drinker and regularly exercised. If ever there was a guy to live to beyond his life expectancy (84 years) then it would be Brett right? Wrong.
As you can see in the table below, according to MLC, the chance of Brett dying before the age of 65 was 11%. More staggering was the 54% chance of him or his 29 year old wife being totally and permanently disabled (TPD) or suffering a critical illness (CI) before age 65.
Yes that is correct … one in every two couples will experience a period of substantial loss of income capacity before age 65. Just have a think about those that you know that have died before the age of 80. And age 60. If you still don’t believe me then read today’s paper, find the story about a fatal car accident and then look at the ages of the deceased.
But Brett’s death is not the only sad news … nor is it the fact that he has left behind a wife and five children from 2 relationships under the age of 10. There are two more bits of information that you need to know:
- Brett did not have a will; and
- Brett didn’t have life insurance.
As a result of not implementing these two simple things, Brett’s wife has described the whole situation as “just one big financial mess”. Whilst I am not an experienced lawyer, I do know that his ex will probably try to claim on his estate. Any credit card and personal loan debt has to be repaid by the estate before any distribution can be made. Any joint debts will now be fully the responsibility of his wife who will need to return to the workforce as soon as practicable. Her parents are moving up from the Gold Coast to help look after the children whilst she goes out and works.
Brett never got the chance to regain consciousness in hospital to give his goodbyes to his family but I am sure that he would have hated the experience knowing that he was slack with his will and his insurance. How do you want to remember your last breaths and vision of your family … with happiness that they are financially secure or with sadness knowing that you let them down.
I am forever getting excuses about why people don’t take out life insurance or write a will. And in the past I accepted them. But after witnessing Brett’s situation I cannot accept them anymore. Don’t wait a few years … don’t wait a few months … get onto the case now. It is the start of a new financial year and a great opportunity for you to get some New Year’s Resolutions marked off. So please can you consider the following lessons from this sad story:
- Organize your will, preferably prepared by a legal expert and make sure that your executors are aware of your financial situation;
- Arrange insurance cover for death, total & permanent disability (TPD) and critical illness – make sure that you are covered adequately to take care of your mortgage and children;
- Talk with your partner so that they are abreast and aware of your financial affairs (make sure you include passwords, logins, names of professionals that you deal with, etc).
Whilst it was too late for Brett’s family, hopefully you can learn from his mistakes. And rest easy knowing that your family’s security is assured. If you would like a free no obligation quote for life insurance then contact us now.