Someone can depend on your income. Someone can also depend on unpaid work such as childcare or household management, which would still have to be paid for if it stopped.
Financial dependence is wider than a list of legal dependants. A child may rely on your income, but so might a parent, partner, sibling, employee or former spouse.
The question is what would happen financially if your income or contribution disappeared. How much would be needed, for how long and which costs could change? Some dependence is temporary, such as school fees. Some may last for life. Shared debt and business guarantees can create obligations even where day-to-day support is limited.
Be equally careful not to count the same need twice. A partner’s income, existing assets, employer benefits or current cover may already meet part of it.
Try this now
List every person or obligation affected if your income stopped. Add the monthly amount, expected duration and current resource available. Include unpaid roles that would need to be replaced with paid help.
Ask your advisor
- Which dependants and obligations were included in the cover estimate?
- How were changing needs over time allowed for?
- Which resources reduce the gap, and are they genuinely available?
A dependence map is not a recommendation to buy cover. It is the evidence needed for a sensible conversation about consequences.