• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

  • Home
  • Personal Finance
  • Debt
  • Saving
  • Investing
    • Best Online Brokerages
  • Taxes
  • Credit Scores
You Are Here: Home » Personal Finance » What Would You Do If Your Spouse Died?

What Would You Do If Your Spouse Died?

Published or updated December 30, 2014 by Miranda

There are few things in life as traumatizing as the death of a spouse.

Whether your spouse passes suddenly, in an accident, or suffers from a long-standing illness, it’s hard to face life without your companion and partner.

And one of the most difficult things to work through is the money.

When you lose a spouse, there are financial implications — especially if you aren’t the primary breadwinner.

While it isn’t pleasant to think about the loss of a spouse, the fact of the matter is that you need to consider the possibility, and come with a plan to ensure that your finances survive the blow.

What are Your Options?


One of the first things you need to do, of course, is make sure that each spouse has enough life insurance to help meet your needs, including needs that crop up after funeral expenses.

In my family, since I am the primary breadwinner, we have a higher amount of coverage in life insurance for me — enough to pay off the mortgage and student and car loan debt, as well as provide some income.  However, we also have my husband covered so that if he should pass, I would be able to pay off my student loans and the car loan, and increase the amount of money going into my son’s 529 plan.

You should also consider other options, though.

Would you be able to take over some of the duties of your spouse?

In my case, I would either need to find the time for yard work, meal prep. four days a week, and laundry, or hire someone else to do it.  If I passed first, though, my husband would have to work out some sort of child care arrangement, and some house cleaning arrangement, since I am also the primary caregiver, since I work from home.

Non-working spouses need to assess their skills.

If your spouse died, would you be able to find work?  This is especially important if your life insurance coverage isn’t going to be enough to provide income for the next decade or two.

It’s also important to realize that there are some cases, such as in the event of suicide, that you might not receive a life insurance payout.  Consider your skills, and your ability to find employment; you might want to continue developing your abilities so that you can get a job later on, if you need to.

Sometimes, your options might include some other actions.

Could you move closer to family in order to get emotional support and child care help?  That might help you save some money — and your sanity.

Additionally, you should also understand how finances work.

Even if you aren’t specifically “in charge” of the budget, you should still know how to create and adhere to a financial plan.  Know about investing, spending, saving and how your finances operate.

This is information you will need to have if your spouse dies.

Waiting until you have to learn, and trying to learn while you are already in a difficult position, can be a recipe for disaster.

In the end, you need to consider the unthinkable, and make a plan.  That way, you will be a little more prepared for what no one can truly prepare for.

What else should you consider in the event of a spouse dying?

Filed Under: Personal Finance

About Miranda

Miranda is a freelance writer and professional blogger specializing in financial topics. Her work appears on numerous financial sites, including Wise Bread and Huffington Post. Miranda's blog is Planting Money Seeds.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. krantcents says

    December 21, 2011 at 2:06 pm

    It would be devastating! Emotionally, it would be very difficult, but life insurance would replace the income and make it easier to deal with the emotions.

    Reply
  2. 101 Centavos says

    December 21, 2011 at 9:12 pm

    Regrettably, this is one of those things that have to be considered. As I’m the primary income in the household, I’m very well insured.

    Reply
  3. Dr Dean says

    December 22, 2011 at 7:40 am

    Although we all know it will happen, we many times ignore the implications to our loved ones peril…. Even terminally ill people will many times ignore the obvious and let the family figure it all out.

    Don’t let the probate judge make your financial decisions! Plan, plan, plan.

    Reply
  4. Monica says

    December 22, 2011 at 5:44 pm

    This is something that so many people hesitate to think about because of fear or lack of information. It’s also important to have a will so that your wishes are carried out in the way that you want. Knowing that you have a plan in place definitely provides peace of mind.

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

A Little About Me

Glen CraigI'm Glen Craig - I used to live paycheck-to-paycheck, drowning in credit card debt. I turned that all around and now I build wealth rather than debt.

My goal is to make personal finance easy for you.

More ABOUT me.

Join our email list (FREE) and never miss an article!


Free From Broke as seen on

Follow Us

FacebookGoogleTwitterRSS



Follow @freefrombroke

Top Articles

  • Use Google Calendar To Pay Your Bills On Time
  • 9 Things to Do When You Retire
  • Side Hustle-Make Extra Money Cleaning Homes
  • Four Ways You Can Pay Off Your Home Mortgage Faster
  • Don’t Forget Your 401(k) When You Leave Your Job! Here’s What You Can Do With It
  • Your 4 Step Guide on How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck
  • What Is A Mortgage Escrow Account?
  • This is Why Your House Isn’t Selling – Here’s How to Finally Get Your House Sold
  • 7 Ways to Get Rich Quick
  • What is Renter’s Insurance and Why You Need It
  • What Is a Probate Lawyer and When Would You Use One?

Recent Articles

  • Money Market Account VS Savings Account – What’s the Difference?
  • Five Ways Fantasy Baseball is Like Personal Finance
  • Tools to Help Organize Your Taxes
  • Don't Let Your Goals Fizzle Out! - 5 Reasons Goals Fail, and What You Can Do To Make Yours Succeed
  • What Do You Think of New Year's Resolutions?

Tools to Improve Your Finances

  • Online High Yield Savings
  • All About Online Checking Accounts – Why Pay More Fees Than You Have To
  • Personal Capital Review - A One Stop Financial Center
  • Online Brokerages That Won't Break Your Bank
  • Credit Karma Review - Get Your Credit Score and More
  • CD Rates
  • Savings Rates
  • Mortgage and Refinance Rates
TurboTax Review HR Block Review Shoeboxed Review

Follow Us On Pinterest!

Follow Free From Broke's board Most RePinned and Popular {Free From Broke} on Pinterest.

Footer

More

  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact Us
  • Get Our Newsletter

More Recent Articles

  • Think Long Term When Shopping Black Friday and Cyber Monday
  • 10 Essential Tips For Shopping Black Friday And Cyber Monday That Will Save You Money
  • How to Improve Your Credit Score Fast
  • What is a Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) and is it Worth It?
  • Paying Taxes with a Credit Card: Pros and Cons

Disclaimer

Free From Broke is for general information or entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional financial advice. Be smart and do your own research or contact an independent financial professional for advice regarding your specific situation.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, we state that we have a financial relationship with companies mentioned in this website. This may include receiving access to free products and services for product and service reviews and giveaways.

© 2007–2025 Free From Broke A Personal Finance Blog For Regular Folks – All rights reserved.

No content on this site may be reused in any fashion without written permission from FreeFromBroke.com | Privacy Policy | Sitemap

Copyright © 2025 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Go to mobile version
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.