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Expert: - 7/15/2009


Question
my mom was recently killed by someone who hit her while driving her car. she was divorced from my step dad and they where not living together at the time but i dont know if her address changed yet. they where both on the auto insurence policy through hartford. does th money go to her children or will my step dad get the claim.

Answer
Hello,

You are asking a question that I cannot answer. There is first, the issue of state law. Then it depends on how the estate was set up. Your best bet would be to speak to an attorney in the state your mom was living in. More specifically, the attorney handling the probate.

I am going through my own little disaster here where because my dad lived in the state of Wisconsin, my black widow step mother gets half of everything. The wills mean nothing. My mom was married to my dad for 55 years and has no meaning. The step mother was married to my dad 17 months and gets half of everything. Wisconsin law sucks!!!!

You need to contact the probate attorney in your mom's situation and find out who gets the money.

Rob

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Rob Painter, Ase, CFEI, CAFATE

Expertise

Please remember. I am not an attorney and cannot legal advice. My answers are based on my experience due to litigation I have been involved in as an expert, for both insurance companies and while oposing them opposing them. I deal with only comprehensive claims on autos related to fire and theft. I have even had the opportunity to rewrite policy coverage language as it relates to vehicle theft and forced entry for insurance defense attorneys.

Experience

Experience in the area: Working with insurance companies and attorneys on these issues for over 20 years. It is very common to have a reported stolen car with a so-called factory anti-theft system to have the theft claim denied. I have served successfully as an expert witness in the courts across the US representing the insured and their attorney revealing that the insurance expert did not take all known theories into consideration before rendering their "Forensic" conclusion. Many insurance carriers us independent "Forensic" experts to examine reported stolen vehicles commonly using flawed methodology implicating the innocent insured with the theft. My job is to determine if the insurance expert reached his conclusions based on accepted scientific principals or just net opinion with no basis other than opinion. My case record against such experts is very compelling.My resume can be seen at the catagory "Auto Theft and Prevention." In "Forensics" the scientific method must be employed. In the forensic locksmith field determining how a reported stolen vehicle was last operated, many processes cannot be duplicated and are conveniently not addressed. If they were, juries would have the opportunity to make a fair and impartial opinion at least about what the expert could or could not prove. There is a purported process determining the last key used. The chances of determining such is very rare uless the key is found in the ignition lock. Experts commonly destroy evidence as well and are rarely questioned on this event. I reveal the weakness in their testimony on such instances.

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