How A Missing Signature Killed The Dreams Of The Donald Jenkins'
By Daniel Gutschenritter, Fri Dec 9th
The headline and accompanying article were only 3 sentenceslong:
"Tragedy Strikes Local Family - Donald Jenkins was killedyesterday evening in a single car accident when the vehicle hewas driving hit a patch of ice and lost control striking aconcrete bridge support. He is survived by his wife and threechildren.”
Can two sentences sum up the life of Don Jenkins?
No way. You see I knew Don Jenkins and I bet you have friendsjust like him. A great guy, a loving husband and a caringfather. Heck, you might be just like him yourself. Let me take amoment to share with you the story behind the story:
The accident occurred on a Friday evening in early December. Ihad just talked with Don earlier that afternoon and he was ontop of the world. So many things were going right for him, hejoked, it just wasn’t fair for anyone else. He and his wifeMarianne had been married for 24 years and she had given himthree terrific kids. The oldest, Sarah, had announced atThanksgiving that she was engaged and was going to be gettingmarried the following fall. Everyone liked her fiancé and theywere already making plans for a lovely wedding with lots offriends and family.
Next in line was his son Stephen who was a senior in highschool. Stephen was a well-rounded kid who did well in schooland was busy applying to a number of colleges. He hoped to getaccepted to an Ivy League school and his grades were strongenough that he might just get in.
Finally, there was Tony who was a sophomore in high school. Tonywas a great basketball player, good enough to play varsity, andwas excited as the season was just getting under way. Don hadnot missed one of Tony’s games since he was in the sixth grade.
For Don, well he was on a roll too. He had gotten a promotionover the summer that gave him a significant pay raise. Enoughfor he and Marianne to buy a larger home in a nicer part of town.
When I talked to him earlier that afternoon, he was making plansto leave work around 5:00 PM, go home and change, then he andMarianne were going to their first Christmas party of theholiday season. He was telling me he was looking out of hisoffice window at a light snow falling.
Unbelievably,
at approximately 5:52PM Don Jenkins was pronounceddead on the scene. Apparently, according to police reports, hewas traveling down the road and hit an icy spot which caused himto loose control of his car and hit the bridge support head-on.While Don’s death was a great loss to those who knew him, itnearly tore apart his family. You must understand , I loved Donlike a brother, but there was one thing that he never did that Ihope you take away as a lesson from this story.
Don never finished the application for the life insurance policyI had sent him. I had already filled in everything for him. Allhe had to do was sign it. Every time I asked him about it, healways put me off by telling me he would get around to it whenhe had time. He was just to busy, he said.
When Don died at the age of 48, his “estate” consisted of a$400,000 house on which he owed $325,000, some small stock andIRA investments, three cars, and $22,000 in credit card debt. ·There was no life insurance to act as income replacement for thenext 20 years. · There was no life insurance to pay off themortgage debt, credit cards, or auto loans. · There was no lifeinsurance to pay for the kids college. · There was no lifeinsurance to pay for Sarah’s wedding.
Marianne ended up having to sell the house and take a job inorder to make ends meet.
The really aggravating thing was that Don was in decent healthand could have gotten a $1,000,000 20 year term life policy foraround $150 per month. That $1,000,000 would have gone to hisfamily tax free in a lump sum and would have done a lot of goodfor his family at a time they needed it most.
Why do I share this story with you? I want you to be aware thatthe decisions you make (or don’t make) can have a major impacton your loved ones. Whether you buy your life insurance from usor get it from someone else, just do it! Before it’s too late.
Don didn’t plan on dying when he did. Few people ever do. Takeresponsibility and take action.
For additional information, visit us at www.TermSelect.com for afree, no obligation quote for your term life insurance needs.Our technology searches a proprietary database with over 150insurance companies and literally thousands of policies to findone that fits your needs and your budget. In addition, be sureto request our free report "The Insider's Guide to Secrets theLife Insurance Industry Doesn't Want You to Know!" Learn how tobe a smart consumer when making one of the most importantdecisions that affects your family's future.
