If life insurance buying is approached in the proper manner it can be very beneficial to yourself and your family. You need to take the time to give some thought to a subject that can be very unpleasant. I guess that is why most people don't think about it, or at best think about it only after they have had a brush with death, or when a life insurance professional brings up the subject.

Sometimes these people wait until it is too late to do something about such a critical matter. They find themselves uninsurable when they discover they have some critical illness. People should give life insurance buying serious thought at least once per year as ones situation may change and you find that your need for life insurance may change as a result.

These are the questions any good life insurance agent would ask. Your answers would help him or her come up with an accurate amount that would be a perfect fit for you. Here are the questions.

Should I buy life insurance to pay for funeral expenses when I die or do I prefer to have this taken from accumulated cash?

Do I need a policy to pay estate taxes? This is for people with an estate in excess of $1,500,000. Estate taxes may be repealed in the near future. The congress is looking at this matter at the present time.

Do I want to leave a lump sum for my family and how much? If the beneficiaries are well practised in handling large sums of money then this may be a good idea, otherwise, it may be wise to provide an income.

What about an income? Should I set up an income for the lifetime of the beneficiary, or should the income derived from the proceeds of the life insurance policy be paid out for a limited number of years? Should I let the insurance company hold the principal and pay out an income to the beneficiary?

How about life insurance on my spouse? Would that be a good thing? What about the children, is there a need for life insurance?

If you have a business, is there an employee that you could consider a key person? Should you have some life insurance on him or her? If your business partner died, what would happen to his shares? What would happen to his family?

Ask yourself these questions before doing your life insurance shopping and you will know whether or not you need life insurance, and if you do, how much you should buy.