The Moment Everything Changes

On a December afternoon in 2010, a 22-year-old East Stroudsburg University student collapsed while playing basketball at Koehler Fieldhouse. His heart stopped. No warning. No dramatic buildup. One moment he was on the court — the next, he was gone.

An AED placed through the Gregory W. Moyer Defibrillator Fund helped bring him back. That young man was me, Jackson Latimore. And the question I have asked myself every day since is not "why did I survive?" It is "what would have happened to the people who depended on me if I had not?"

The Mortgage Problem Nobody Talks About

According to LIMRA's 2023 Insurance Barometer Study, 41 percent of Americans say they do not have enough life insurance, and 50 percent of households with children under 18 say they would face financial hardship within six months if a primary wage earner died. Six months. Not six years. Six months.

In Schuylkill, Luzerne, and Northumberland Counties — where median household incomes run well below the national average and where many families carry both a mortgage and a vehicle payment into their 40s and 50s — that six-month window is optimistic.

What Actually Happens When There Is No Plan

Week one: The surviving spouse must notify the bank, the insurance company, the vehicle lender, and the utility companies. Grief and logistics collide in the worst possible way.

Month two: The mortgage payment comes due. With one income gone and no death benefit, the surviving parent faces an immediate cash-flow crisis.

Month six: Savings are depleted. The surviving spouse faces a choice between keeping the house and keeping the kids in their school, or selling everything and starting over. Children lose not just a parent but their home, their neighborhood, and their stability in the same year.

What Life Insurance Actually Does

A properly structured life insurance policy does one thing above everything else: it buys your family time. Time to grieve without financial panic. Time for the surviving parent to make rational decisions. Time for your children to stay in the same school, the same neighborhood, the same life they knew.

A 35-year-old non-smoker in good health can typically secure $500,000 in coverage for less than $30 per month. That is less than a tank of gas — and a guarantee that your family keeps the house if the worst happens.

Decision Checklist — Is Your Family Protected?

  • Do you have a life insurance policy currently in force?
  • Does your death benefit cover at least 10× your annual income?
  • Does your policy term extend until your youngest child is 25 or your mortgage is paid off?
  • Does your surviving spouse know where the policy is and how to file a claim?
  • Have you reviewed your beneficiary designations in the last three years?
  • Do you have coverage for childcare costs in addition to income replacement?
  • If self-employed, is your business debt also covered?

Many thanks,

Jackson M. Latimore Sr. 1544 Highway S. Rt. 61 - Pottsville, PA 17931 717-615-2613 Jackson1989@latimorelegacy.com www.latimorelifelegacy.com ↗ card.latimorelifelegacy.com ↗