ahh yes, of course.... sorry, I was only thinking of children....
I'd go with a modest term coverage, just enough to cover those needs, and only a term long enough to go up to retirement. ... jmho.
My wife and I have term coverage on each other, but because our kids are still young, we have enough coverage for either of us to be a stay-at-home parent until the kids are grown. The term also expires when they are grown. The agents tried to get us into whole life, but I didn't like it either as an investment (seemed to me real estate or mutual funds would do better), or as insurance (payouts increase over time, rather than one set amount, and pay the lowest when you are at the highest risk for a crisis). The only advantage I saw with whole life was the tax shelter, but no one should make choices on taxes alone. I'd be happy to give you the name of the agent we ultimately went with, if you're interested.