Unclaimed Life Insurance Policy

[Anonymous]

My dad died 17 years ago, and my mom just two years ago. I was executrix of my mother's estate and distributed the last of it in late 2012. I am one of six siblings.

Yesterday I received a letter from a reputable life insurance company saying they understood from the social security administration that [my dad's name] had died in '96, and that they were looking for a relative of his to discuss an insurance matter - to call immediately. I called them and confirmed who I am, and they said that he had a life insurance policy which had never been claimed. They asked me some questions (his date of birth, date of death, my mom's name, etc.) but could not disclose anything about the policy or benefit amounts. They are emailing me claim forms with instructions for completion, and once I have completed them I need to mail them in with a certified death certificate.

I am a bit flabbergasted by this. I have the death certificate but wonder:

-Since my mom (who was presumably the beneficiary) has passed away, would the proceeds - whatever they are - go to her estate, or to the six children directly? Does that depend on how the beneficiaries were designated (children as contingent beneficiaries or not)?

-Life insurance passes outside of the estate (I know my mom's did). On the other hand, since mom is gone, wouldn't the proceeds have to go into her estate unless we six were designated as contingent beneficiaries?

-If the proceeds must go into the estate, then do I need to reestablish an Estate Of Mom bank account to distribute them, as executrix?

Has anyone ever encountered a situation like this?

I am intrigued by this strange development, but also sad for my mom if it turns out that this is a significant amount, intended by my dad to support mom in her old age. She was fine in retirement, thanks to her aggressive savings, but I know she was surprised (and dismayed) when my dad passed away to learn how little money he had. (They kept their finances separate - weird to me, but that's what they did.) If it turns out that he had in fact planned for her well-being via this insurance policy, it is terribly sad to me that she never knew or benefited from that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dad died 17 years ago, and my mom just two years ago. I was executrix of my mother's estate and distributed the last of it in late 2012. I am one of six siblings.

Yesterday I received a letter from a reputable life insurance company saying they understood from the social security administration that [my dad's name] had died in '96, and that they were looking for a relative of his to discuss an insurance matter - to call immediately. I called them and confirmed who I am, and they said that he had a life insurance policy which had never been claimed. They asked me some questions (his date of birth, date of death, my mom's name, etc.) but could not disclose anything about the policy or benefit amounts. They are emailing me claim forms with instructions for completion, and once I have completed them I need to mail them in with a certified death certificate.

I am a bit flabbergasted by this. I have the death certificate but wonder:

-Since my mom (who was presumably the beneficiary) has passed away, would the proceeds - whatever they are - go to her estate, or to the six children directly? Does that depend on how the beneficiaries were designated (children as contingent beneficiaries or not)?

-Life insurance passes outside of the estate (I know my mom's did). On the other hand, since mom is gone, wouldn't the proceeds have to go into her estate unless we six were designated as contingent beneficiaries?

-If the proceeds must go into the estate, then do I need to reestablish an Estate Of Mom bank account to distribute them, as executrix?

Has anyone ever encountered a situation like this?

I am intrigued by this strange development, but also sad for my mom if it turns out that this is a significant amount, intended by my dad to support mom in her old age. She was fine in retirement, thanks to her aggressive savings, but I know she was surprised (and dismayed) when my dad passed away to learn how little money he had. (They kept their finances separate - weird to me, but that's what they did.) If it turns out that he had in fact planned for her well-being via this insurance policy, it is terribly sad to me that she never knew or benefited from that.

Your questions very much depend on who, exactly, the policy was left to, and contingent beneficiaries, if any. It might not have been your mom. I wouldn't get too worked up over the possibility of it being a large amount--if it was, your mom likely would have known about it, and a lot of this lost insurance policies end up being, say, a $1K freebie policy that the person obtained with, for example, a credit union membership. If so, it might not even be worth messing with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dad died 17 years ago, and my mom just two years ago. I was executrix of my mother's estate and distributed the last of it in late 2012. I am one of six siblings.

Yesterday I received a letter from a reputable life insurance company saying they understood from the social security administration that [my dad's name] had died in '96, and that they were looking for a relative of his to discuss an insurance matter - to call immediately. I called them and confirmed who I am, and they said that he had a life insurance policy which had never been claimed. They asked me some questions (his date of birth, date of death, my mom's name, etc.) but could not disclose anything about the policy or benefit amounts. They are emailing me claim forms with instructions for completion, and once I have completed them I need to mail them in with a certified death certificate.

I am a bit flabbergasted by this. I have the death certificate but wonder:

-Since my mom (who was presumably the beneficiary) has passed away, would the proceeds - whatever they are - go to her estate, or to the six children directly? Does that depend on how the beneficiaries were designated (children as contingent beneficiaries or not)?

-Life insurance passes outside of the estate (I know my mom's did). On the other hand, since mom is gone, wouldn't the proceeds have to go into her estate unless we six were designated as contingent beneficiaries?

-If the proceeds must go into the estate, then do I need to reestablish an Estate Of Mom bank account to distribute them, as executrix?

Has anyone ever encountered a situation like this?

I am intrigued by this strange development, but also sad for my mom if it turns out that this is a significant amount, intended by my dad to support mom in her old age. She was fine in retirement, thanks to her aggressive savings, but I know she was surprised (and dismayed) when my dad passed away to learn how little money he had. (They kept their finances separate - weird to me, but that's what they did.) If it turns out that he had in fact planned for her well-being via this insurance policy, it is terribly sad to me that she never knew or benefited from that.

Your questions very much depend on who, exactly, the policy was left to, and contingent beneficiaries, if any. It might not have been your mom. I wouldn't get too worked up over the possibility of it being a large amount--if it was, your mom likely would have known about it, and a lot of this lost insurance policies end up being, say, a $1K freebie policy that the person obtained with, for example, a credit union membership. If so, it might not even be worth messing with it.

Thanks. I will find out more when I can, and take it from there.

I doubt it is a $1K freebie policy, but on the other hand it is unlikely to involve a million dollars either.

[Anonymous]

I would just follow the underwriter's instructions. They have little leeway beyond what your father's instructions were to them. If you mom is the beneficiary, you will probably have to re-open her estate to receive the funds. I wouldn't get my hopes up in terms of big money, especialy with six siblings, but I bet it will be worth your time to get it done.

[Anonymous]

Please be careful, OP. this could also be a scam. Hopefully not, but providing a lot of personal info to someone who calls you out of the blue is dangerous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please be careful, OP. this could also be a scam. Hopefully not, but providing a lot of personal info to someone who calls you out of the blue is dangerous.

Plus one

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please be careful, OP. this could also be a scam. Hopefully not, but providing a lot of personal info to someone who calls you out of the blue is dangerous.

This is exactly what I was thinking . . . . . . please be careful about giving out information over the phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would just follow the underwriter's instructions. They have little leeway beyond what your father's instructions were to them. If you mom is the beneficiary, you will probably have to re-open her estate to receive the funds. I wouldn't get my hopes up in terms of big money, especialy with six siblings, but I bet it will be worth your time to get it done.

In my experience, when you take out a life insurance policy they require you to designate one or more contingent beneficiaries in the event that the primary beneficiary pre-deceases the policyholder. I would bet that this is the case with your dad. It may be some combination of your siblings or someone else, but I don't think your mom's estate will come into play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would just follow the underwriter's instructions. They have little leeway beyond what your father's instructions were to them. If you mom is the beneficiary, you will probably have to re-open her estate to receive the funds. I wouldn't get my hopes up in terms of big money, especialy with six siblings, but I bet it will be worth your time to get it done.

In my experience, when you take out a life insurance policy they require you to designate one or more contingent beneficiaries in the event that the primary beneficiary pre-deceases the policyholder. I would bet that this is the case with your dad. It may be some combination of your siblings or someone else, but I don't think your mom's estate will come into play.

OP here. That is my hope. I really, REALLY do not want to re-open my mom's estate. It was a pain to settle and one of my siblings is very difficult (understatement). And I was so happy to file the last tax return in April.

If this is real, then it would be ideal for the siblings to have been designated as contingent beneficiaries and for each of us to file our own claim form.

RE scams, I am proceeding with great caution - I have not given any personal info over the phone. I'm a lawyer and cautious by nature, so while this is not my area of practice, I know enough to be cautious.

Thanks, all.

[Anonymous]

Another scam-prevention technique that I use:

I generally won't talk to companies that call me on the phone. I ask them to give me their 800 number and extension and then I call them back. Then at least when I call, I hopefully will hear "Acme Inc" when the phone is answered.

That's a small way to verify who they say they are. If they can't give you their 800 number and extension right away, the are scamming. You might even want to verify the 800 number that they give you to see if it's on the company's website or Google it first.

It's not a foolproof technique, and a really good scammer might have an 800 number set up already to ring back to them, but I figure it's but better than nothing.

[Anonymous]

First. Ask the life insurance to which state they turned over the proceeds. You can call that states unclaimed property department and get the funds directly to them.

Second, depending on the amount of proceeds to your mother, distribution may be a ministerial act for which probate would not need to be reopened. Consult a probate attorney for details.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another scam-prevention technique that I use:

I generally won't talk to companies that call me on the phone. I ask them to give me their 800 number and extension and then I call them back. Then at least when I call, I hopefully will hear "Acme Inc" when the phone is answered.

That's a small way to verify who they say they are. If they can't give you their 800 number and extension right away, the are scamming. You might even want to verify the 800 number that they give you to see if it's on the company's website or Google it first.

It's not a foolproof technique, and a really good scammer might have an 800 number set up already to ring back to them, but I figure it's but better than nothing.

OP here. They did not call me; I received a letter from them. I called them.

The company in question is a major insurance company. I checked out their phone number (on the letterhead; the one I called) and it is legit.