Estimating life insurance needs

Use Worksheet 8.1 Aurora Bell is a 72-year-old widow who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. She has limited financial assets of

her own and has been living with her daughter Skylar for 2 years. Her only income is $800 a month in Social Security survivor's benefits. Skylar wants to

make sure her mother will be taken care of if Skylar should die. Skylar, 40, is single and earns $65,000 a year as a human resources manager for a

small manufacturing firm. She owns a condo with a current market value of $265,000 and has a $133,000 mortgage. Other debts include a $2,000 auto

loan and $500 in various credit card balances. Her 401(k) plan has a current balance of $57,500, and she keeps $4,000 in a money market account for

emergencies. After talking with her mother's doctor, Skylar believes that her mother will be able to continue living independently for another 3 years.

She estimates that her mother would need about $1,750 a month to cover her living expenses and medical costs during this time. After that, Skylar's

mother will probably need nursing home care. Skylar calls several local nursing homes and finds that it will cost about $6,500 a month when her mother

enters a nursing home. Her mother's doctor says it is difficult to estimate her mother's life expectancy but indicates that with proper care some

Alzheimer's patients can live 10 years after diagnosis. Skylar also estimates that her personal final expenses would be around $5,000, and she'd like to

provide a $35,000 contingency fund that would be used to pay a trusted friend to supervise her mother's care if Skylar were no longer alive. Use

Worksheet 8.1 to calculate Skylar's total life insurance requirements. In your analysis, assume there are no incidental special need amounts.