The loss of a family member is not easy for anyone. In most cases, many people often find themselves unprepared as soon as it occurs. As most people mourn the loss of their children or family member and most especially if its the sole breadwinner, it’s only expected that most will wish to give their dear one a befitting send-off.
This can be a respectful and simple wake as well as a solemn funeral service. This will be as meaningful as a way to express their sorrow and also pay their respects, it can also be helpful for the family in dealing with the departure on an emotional level.
A sudden loss of a family entity or sole breadwinner can also incur unprecedented medical bills and untimely loss of work. This expensed can pile up leaving you emotionally lost on how to cope up with these variables.
How To Cope With Loss
With the death of the family’s breadwinner, having to confront the sudden cut of the major source of your household income might appear overwhelming. This is true especially when you are dealing with great grief emotionally as well as unpaid medical bills due to hospitalization, sudden loss of work income, and any unpaid months of debt.
This also means that you may have a number of financial matters that you need to quickly attend to before it escalates into an impossible situation like a months worth of unpaid bills and other impending debts.
Below are a number of financial suggestions to assist you during this challenging time:
1. Financial Adjustments
You may consider starting by making adjustments to your financial and social expenditure and budget to help you adapt to this change in your family expenses. You will also need to review your existing family work, social practices, and lifestyle as well as your family’s monetary goals. At the same time be ready to lower several of your expectations or scale back your expenses drastically to cope with the sudden loss.
This may be the time for you to tap into the emergency savings to help tide you over for the month or so. Each month you may need to set aside a certain amount of budget for the expenditure due each month, share this plan with everyone involved to inform them how to adjust their finances. And change any old practices whether in social or work aspects to cope up with the situation.
2. Talk To Your Lawyers
When it happens that your old and departed family member left a Will, be sure to speak to the executors to make sure there is a smooth allocation of the assets to you and to any other family member. You might have to do some work to formally transfer of any assets as well as existing investments to be under your name. If the Will left the assets to your children, social service in Singapore may be contacted to work on the legal procedures.
Moreover, get to speak to Singapore banks and Singapore moneylenders to recover the money from your joint or their personal bank accounts. When you are a chosen nominee to their CPF savings, the Singaporean CPF Board (CPFB) certainly will contact you for the smooth transfers.
3. Handle Any Debt Swiftly
If you have any existing personal loans or old debts, make sure that you get in touch with the moneylenders right away and see what has to be done to handle the debt. If the amount of the expenses manageable, do consider taking the Raffles Credit Personal Loan to consolidate all the debts into one so that repayments are consistent and easy.
Handling sudden debt can take months to recover, but for the sake of your children and work. Get the debts repaid as soon as possible.
4. Look Into Insurance Claims
Take the time to consolidate all their old insurance policies as well as confirm whether there will be any payments following the death. Also, be sure to confirm the nominees to these policies are.
Thereafter, you can submit a claim to their insurance companies. when it happens that your departed loved one had an insurance policy under the Protection Scheme for Dependants (DPS), you could get in touch with their insurer (this can either be NTUC Income or Great Eastern’s Life) to present your claim application.
Most insurance companies in Singapore may advise you regarding the claim processes as well as any extra information that you may have to present to them for the processing requirements. It is important for you to keep in mind the set time limits for making the death claim. You will need to report the claim immediately to help prevent any month of delays or complicated claim processes.
Once the claim has been approved, your loved one’s insurance companies oftentimes make payments in one huge amount, totaling to the amount assured. When your dear one had an insurance policy under the Singaporean Scheme for Home Protection (HPS) and they hold an existing house or social loan, Singapore’s CPFB will certainly contact you as well as your family members regarding the claim process.
5. Investing Your Future
It is recommended for you to look for help when you require planning for your finances in advance. Do take time to carefully think about your family’s needs as well as the circumstances. You may not know when medical and work problems arise so plan ahead of months and share with your children your investment plans to inform them.
When you aren’t able to afford to lose the money that you got, you need not take these unnecessary risks. You may consider aiming for lower risk or even the conservative investments. Although these investments come with a little lower returns, you need to be aware of the greater risk of losing the family’s capital you may face through taking higher-return products.
It is also important for you to remember that every investment products, even including the insurance policies such as the products linked to investment (ILPs) as well as endowment policies. These investment products often carry a definite amount of risk. When unsure, it is best to have a chat with a professional.
Conclusion
When you have received some benefits from your loved one’s insurance payment or have been left some assets and money, you may most likely be trying to figure out ways to manage the money.
Although it might seem like its a big amount of money, it’s important that you keep in mind that this amount of money is for paying for both your family’s everyday requirements as well as social and future needs. You may also have to take care of your aging parents (both your own and your spouse’s), pay for the children’s education as well as take care of any existing personal loans.
Even under such challenging circumstance, it is important that you be aware that you have a significant role in ensuring that the cash lasts longer to help meet your family’s future needs.
Several Singaporeans might not have assets or existing savings to depend on. When times get tough, instead of obtaining extra cash through illegal loan sharks, approach any legitimate moneylenders for a personal loan to tide the emergency financial period. Such loans are usually quick to approve and easy to apply with simple documentation required.
