AboutWillard R. Brumbaugh, LUTCF, CSFP Expertise I can handle questions concerning life insurance, it`s tax implications, how to determine what is appropriate, and how it fits in one`s estate and retirement planning.
Experience For 2 1/2 years I was an expert on AskMe.com, where for most of that time I was ranked #1. I have been a moderator (instructor) for the Life Underwriters Training Council. I have been licensed since 1969.
Organizations I belong to: National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors - California
and the Inland Empire Estate Planning Council.
I hold the professional designation of Life Underwriters Training Council Fellow.
Question My father passed away over a year ago now. Before he died he told me he had life insurance his wife (my stepmother) was not aware of. It was supposedly for my brothers and myself. I did't ask about it because at the time we were still hoping he would recover from his illness. After he passed my stepmother has gone into a deep depression and the slightest mention of my father sets her off. In other words there is no way I could tell her he might have had a policy she was not aware of. However, I have no way of finding out if he really had a policy and where he would have held it. I have no reason to doubt him. However its been over a year and nothing has turned up. I checked with his employer but they game me nothing. They said he didnt take out supplemental Life through them. I'm lost with this. I hate the feeling that he may have left something for us and I've done nothing about it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
--Jose
Answer Dear Jose,
I am sorry for your loss. But you try these.
1. Contact the bank where he had his checking account. The bank should have a record of all his checks back seven years from now. Records of the cancelled checks might include premiums paid. And the company name and policy number should be on the checks.
2.Contact his doctor to see if there is an entry in his medical record for a request for an attending physician's report from any life insurance company.
Should there be such a request, contact the company with your Dad's social security number. They could then check their records. This you should do right away. If your Dad had been paying premiums on the policy, it might have lapsed since he died.
This lapse would be reversed once the company learned of his passing. The benefit would be calculated at the time of his death, and it is possible the company would add interest to the benefit for the time passed.
