law settlement and life insurance of a passed father

[bettyblue62]

california,
my father passed away with a settlement he hed won. i have not recieved the check yet. my father had a work related accident and is getting the settlement from his work. my problem is that he also has a life insurance policy for me at his work through cobra life insurance, but i am afraid to collect it and go in to his work, because they will find out about his death and stop the settlement. thats what my fathers lawyer had told me. Is that true? how long can i go with out collecting the life insurance policy?

 

[advisor10]

JULY 24, 2001

DEAR BETTYBLUE:

Did your father have a will and was someone named as executor for that will?

I don't agree with the lawyer's advice--it would seem to me that the settlement check is or would be a separate item that should be included in the estate, and it is technically the executor's responsibility to claim this money. Any reasonable company would not stop the settlement check just because the death occurred, and if they did, this may possibly be unethical or illegal, and that is why you need an official representative (such as an attorney or estate executor) to make sure this money is claimed as soon as possible. The estate executor would need to immediately file the will so that the executor could also receive official legal papers authorizing the executor to claim any monies belonging to the decedent.

You may want to get a second opinion from someone who is an expert on the cobra life insurance (maybe from an attorney or from a human relations/personnel benefits person at any other company besides the one your father was employed at) to find out how you can go about claiming that life insurance and if there are any technicalities or concerns you should be aware of. Normally, life insurance is not considered a part of the estate.

You may also want to post your question on the insurance message board section for this website to see if anyone who is expert could respond.


SINCERELY,

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