Spouse dying investing life insurance money

[Dena Sommers]

My bread winner spouse is dying of cancer. I will inherit his life insurance money. I do not have a "real" job but one that makes some money…not enough to support a family. Docs says he has a year to live. He makes excellent money. We have 2 children under 18 to support. I am thinking what can my spouse do to help me launch so I can make enough to pay the bills because once he passes I won't be able to afford our home and lifestyle. I asked him to take out a HELOC for a down payment then qualify for another home. I am looking at short term vacation rentals. Right now just looking to break even then take insurance money, pay it down and buy another short term rental. I need help because I am soon to be a single mother with hardly any income. I plan on getting a full time job with benefits once he passes but doubt it will be enough. Is this achievable and a good idea?

[Todd Rasmussen]

@Dena Sommers

Well that's some **** news. I'm sorry for what your family is and will be going through.

Taking a HELOC as a down payment will not work for a period of time, (2-3 months) as the lender will require you to source large deposits during underwriting and a borrowed down payment won't be allowed. This is commonly referred to as seasoning if you wish to do more research on that specific topic.

Without getting all of your financial details, I could only offer some generic methods for you to determine what paths are available to you. Take your husband's annual income, subtract the additional income you will make, divide it by the expected proceeds from his life insurance policy and multiply that by 100. That is the return you have to get to maintain your lifestyle. If that is not feasible, you have to work both sides of the equation and reduce expenses as well as generate additional income.

My father in law was told he had a few months to live. He started eating three almonds a day and 20 years later swears that was the difference. May not help, but it couldn't hurt.

I'll be praying for your family.