Bereavement

Article last updated: 20/05/09

The death of a family member is a tragic event and the grieving process can be long and emotionally demanding.

A death in the family can also present an immediate financial difficulty for family members and other dependants, especially if the deceased person was providing an income.

Who is relying on your income – your partner, children, siblings, others?
Your untimely death could have a significant impact on the lives of these people.


Statistics
• Injuries and poisoning are the most common causes of death for males and females in the age groups 1-14 and 15-24 years, and for males aged.25-44 years¹.
• Cancer is the most common cause of death for females aged 25-44 years, and males and females aged 45-64 years².
• Cardiovascular disease kills more people than any other disease – 46,000 deaths in 2006³.

Although Australians have the fourth-highest life expectancy in the world⁴, premature death remains a risk.

Prevention
When trying to maintain good health, remember thefollowing points.
• Healthy eating is important. Eat lots of vegetables and fruit and reduce your intake of saturated fats and sugars.
• Exercise. Do at least 30 minutes of moderate activity a day.
• Stress management is key. Learn to manage stress and set time aside for relaxation.
• Limit your consumption of alcohol and choose not to smoke.
• Check-ups are important – you should periodically visit your doctor for:
- blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol levels checks
- any skin cancer spots
- pap smears and breast examinations (for women), and
- prostate and testicular cancer screenings (for men).

Manage the impact
You may have life insurance through your superannuation fund. Often you’re automatically accepted for basic cover and you may not even realise it. Check with your super fund or look at your latest statement to find out the amount of cover you could have and assess whether it’s sufficient or if you should look at increasing cover.

There are some things that always need consideration:
• your will needs to be updated when necessary to take into account deaths, divorce, marriages and children and your nominated beneficiaries as part of your overall estate planning
• insurance to cover dependants and mortgages
• if you have children, ensure proper guardianship ∙arrangements are in place.

¹ Mortality – FAQs, www.aihw.gov.au, AIHW
² Ibid
³ Ibid
⁴ Australia’s Health 2004, AIHW