This is your employment contract invigorade review But as Rachel Emma Silverman, author of “The Wall Street Journal Complete Estate Planning Guidebook,” told U.S. News, everyone’s life insurance needs are different, and she avoids giving guidance on the amount to take out in her book because there are so many variables. “It depends on your current income, the number of children you have, your spouse’s income. … It’s an art, rather than a science.”