Retirement News & Advice

Dealing with the death of a loved one is stressful enough. But not knowing what to do with someone's finances after the person has passed away poses an additional burden on a grieving family.

To make the process a bit easier, here's a checklist of the top eight money matters you must deal with -- and mistakes to avoid -- after someone you care about dies.

Insurance isn't meant for the little hassles in life, but for the big events that can derail you financially.

"Insurance is meant to protect against the really big stuff that rains down upon you," insurance agent Alan Canton tells WalletPop.

But even Canton, and a handful of other insurance agents WalletPop spoke with, know that not all insurance policies are created equally. Here are seven policies they say aren't worth the money:

The United States Postal Service is nosediving. In its last fiscal year, it lost $8.5 billion, which was $4.7 billion more than the year before. In an attempt to stem some of the losses, it's planning on hiking rates in April. With the use of postal mail dwindling, America's massive infrastructure of post offices can remain useful by imitating the diversity of products sold by the Post Office of the United Kingdom. I traveled there, where the local Post Office is innovating its services to stay relevant to its citizens.

If you want to shop for new vehicles based on insurance costs, you'll want to go to www.insure.com for a list of comparisons. For now, though, we will give you the list of the 10 least expensive and 10 most expensive models.

Based on the list, it would seem that family haulers, especially minivans, are the cheapest to insure--even better priced than family sedans.

It's no surprise, though, that the most expensive are the upper-echelon German and British cars.

American families face many challenges today, from paying the bills and saving for retirement to caring for both children and aging parents. With so much going on in your lives, figuring out the best financial products to buy to protect your family and help lay the groundwork for a secure retirement might seem like an impossible task. WalletPop consulted with experts in saving, investing and retirement planning to put together a road map for readers who want the best for their family's financial future but don't know where to begin.

Pick This: Term Life Insurance
Not That: Whole Life (aka "Cash Value") Insurance
The experts to whom WalletPop spoke all recommended getting life insurance for yourself and your spouse once you start a family. If you're offered life insurance through your job, check out the coverage levels to make sure they're high enough: Ideally, our experts say, you should carry 10 times your annual salary, which ensures that your family will be financially secure in the event of your death. When you're young or middle-aged, the cost of term life insurance is much lower than whole life insurance. "If you run the math, you're better off buying term when you start your family, and save and invest the difference yourself," says Don Chambers, author of Money Basics For Young Adults.

Young adults have a lot on their plates: They're just starting out in the workforce as full-time employees, they're often moving out of their parents' house and renting their first place, and they may be juggling student loans or trying to finance their first car.

The financial services industry offers a dizzying array of products claiming to help them reach their goal of a prosperous adulthood, but which products will really do that and which ones will just enrich the company selling it? WalletPop talked to experts to find out what young adults really need when it comes to financial products and what they should leave behind.

Consumers are starting to see the benefits of health care reform even as opponents vow to repeal one of President Obama's most significant legislative accomplishments, which they have nicknamed ObamaCare.

Though Americans remain divided on the law -- the most sweeping changes to health care in decades -- critics who want to scrap it may risk getting rid of provisions that people actually like, such as preventing insurers from denying coverage based on preexisting conditions, which went into effect last year, along with the controversial requirement which mandates that all citizens have health insurance in 2014. Some of the bill's more popular elements that begin in 2011 affect senior citizens, who remain a powerful voting bloc. In 2011, seniors should get steep discounts on drugs and free wellness and preventive care such as annual physicals.

Here are some of the biggest changes in health care in 2011:

MassMutual, one of the largest life insurance companies in the world, is offering $50,000 worth of free life insurance to working families with children.

Called the Lifebridge program, the 10-year term life policy is issued in the name of one parent or guardian. If that parent dies during the term, the money is placed in a trust to be used for the education of the children. Covered expenses include books, tuition, fees, and room and board. The types of schools covered include pre-school, private school, trade school or college. The children have until 10 years after the death of a parent or until they are age 35 -- whichever is later -- to use the money.

More than half of all American households don't have life insurance, potentially jeopardizing millions of families' financial security in the event of a loved one's death.

According to a survey from LIMRA, a financial services industry group, the percentage of U.S. households with life insurance coverage stands at the lowest level in 50 years. LIMRA reports that only 44% of U.S. households own an individual life insurance policy, which gives a cash payout to one's beneficiaries when a policy holder dies.