Mom bought life insurance for my baby

/u/Ok-Ant8299 • September 4, 2025

Mom bought life insurance for my baby as her birthday gift - I think I want to decline it

Mom bought life insurance for my baby as her birthday gift – I think I want to decline it

We have a healthy 11-month-old, and my mom asked for her SSN last week. Life insurance did cross my mind, but I was thinking some type of other account most likely. This morning, a link from Northwestern Mutual came to me via email asking me to sign on a juvenile life insurance policy. I haven’t opened it yet because I don’t want them to see I’ve opened it, so I don’t know the details. What I do know is my parents are completely trustworthy and there would be no bad intent.

What I’m feeling off about is that my brother has been interning for Northwestern Mutual for two years. My partner and I don’t even have life insurance ourselves, although we did have the meeting with my brother and his mentor some months ago.

When I saw the email, I started crying—probably just being irrationally emotional—but I wasn’t expecting them to purchase this and can’t help but think money would be better spent in a different account. I am considering declining this. Would that be crazy? I would not be asking them to put money elsewhere; I would simply just tell them no.

Before our current baby, we had a pregnancy loss at 22 weeks, and because of that, I have extreme anxiety over our daughter. I want to make sure that’s not skewing my view too much.

“Protect What Matters Most: Give Your Loved Ones the Security They Deserve”

After taking some time to reflect, I realized that my mom’s gesture comes from a place of love and care. While I deeply appreciate her thoughtfulness, I also recognize that I want to choose a path that feels right for my family’s financial goals. I plan to thank her sincerely for the gift and explain that, at this time, we’d prefer to manage savings and protection in a way that fits our current plans. I know this won’t diminish her love or support—it’s simply a matter of finding the approach that gives me peace of mind. In the end, love and intention matter more than the policy itself, and having a conversation about it can strengthen our trust and understanding.