Question:
Janet, age 28, is married and has a son, age 3. She wants to determine how much life insurance she should own based on the capital retention approach. She would like to provide $30,000 each year before taxes to her family if she should die. She owns a house jointly with her husband that has a current market value of $250,000 and a mortgage balance of $100,000. She also owes $16,000 on a car loan and credit cards. She would like to have the mortgage, car loan, and credit card debts paid off if she should die. She has no investments, and her checking account balance is only $1000. She owns an individual life insurance policy in the amount of $100,000 that her parents purchased for her when she was a baby. Estimated Social Security survivor benefits are $10,000 annually. Janet assumes the life insurance proceeds can be invested at 5 percent interest. Based on the capital retention approach, how much additional life insurance, if any, should Janet purchase to meet her financial goals?