How We Protect Our Blended Family
“When we, as LGBTQ+ adults, make the decision to get into a relationship and start a family, it’s not always with the support of our own family.” That is a poignant statement that will resonate with a lot of people.
This insight came from MyLin and SK Stokes Kennedy, who are married and raising their blended family in Southern California. The couple appeared on season six of “Black Love,” where they opened up about the challenges of cultivating their partnership and raising three children.
We are thrilled that they agreed to work with us again this year on spreading the message about the importance of life insurance.
Life insurance? You may ask, “Where does that come into all of this?” Well, it may be more important than most people think, so read on as we chat with MyLin and SK.
Life Happens: When is the first time you both heard about life insurance?
MyLin + SK: We became familiar with it after getting married but didn’t get it until we were pregnant with our first child together.
LH: Why did each of you decide to purchase life insurance?
MyLin + SK: We realized that we didn’t want the other, or our kids, to suffer financially in the midst of grieving if, or when, something happens to us.
LH: What type of coverage do both of you have and why?
MyLin + SK: We currently have term life insurance. In doing research, we found that it was the least expensive option at this point for us.
LH: Why should everyone have life insurance, especially LGBTQ+ adults?
MyLin + SK: When we, as LGBTQ+ adults, make the decision to get into a relationship and start a family, it’s not always with the support of our own family. So, if something happens to us, there is the chance that our desires are not withheld by the surviving family. Wills can be contested, things drawn out. With life insurance, you can ensure that your partner and kids receive what you want them to.
LH: Have you had conversations about life insurance with your family or friends?
MyLin + SK: Yes, we’ve had convos with both. With our moms being the most important ones because of what positions we may be left in if they don’t have life insurance.
LH: What did one of those conversations look like?
MyLin: So, I found out my mom had a very small policy through her job that was under $10,000, which isn’t covering her funeral costs. That led to us looking into getting her a proper policy that would cover her funeral costs (my mom knows a lot of people so it will be big, and we will need funds), bills/debt, mortgage, her car note. There is so much that I don’t want to fall on my brother and I or have to create a GoFundMe and beg people for it. I just want it already taken care of.
LH: What does life insurance mean to you?
MyLin + SK: For us it means security and peace of mind, knowing that if anything unfortunate happens to either of us (or both of us), our kids will be taken care of.
LH: What do you wish more people knew about life insurance?
MyLin + SK: We wish people understood the gravity it held. How much pain and stress dealing with financial struggles after losing a loved one can be and that we can do something about it now. We just need the knowledge and awareness spread that it’s not a huge, expensive monthly bill.
LH: What research findings from our 2024 Insurance Barometer Study (Life Happens and LIMRA) do you find the most interesting?
MyLin + SK: I was interested to see that 62% of people that said they don’t have life insurance also feel as though they need it. The desire is there, they just need more knowledge. So, there is opportunity there to get them the knowledge they need to make that next step.
LH: We agree—and that really is our mission!
MyLin + SK: And then that 22% of people that do have it say they need more. I feel like we land in that 22%. We’ve had life insurance for about five years now and pay $83 a month for all our policies, which includes $150,000 policies for each of us as parents and $15,000 policies for each of our three kids.
Our goal is to jump up to $500,000 of coverage on us as parents because we want our kids to have funds for their future education, just not paying off bills and debt. So even we know that there is room for growth and to receive more knowledge. That’s why we like partnering with you all. It motivates us to dig a little deeper and get more knowledge—and also to share it. Because we know more people need it.
Get Started
Don’t let being unsure of how much or what kind of life insurance to buy stop you from getting coverage. To start, you can do a quick calculation with our Life Insurance Needs Calculator to get a general idea of how much you may need. And if you want help choosing the right kind of policy that fits your budget, you can talk with an insurance professional at no cost or obligation. If you don’t have someone to work with, you can use Life Happens’ Agent Locator here.
