Cause of death on death certificate

[Shadowbunny]

....Is there no way to just get the CoD changed by someone other than the original doctor?

Short answer: No. And as Ron pointed out, if the exclusion is FOR a broken hip, why in the world does she want it changed?

And the survivor benefits aren't going to change because of the nature of the CoD if this is for his military pension. Is there any way your MIL would sign up for an account here? Because there are answers to questions that you're not going to know.

 

[Dandy Don]

Was this doctor your father-in-law's personal physician or a doctor who performed an autopsy?

If no autopsy was performed, you may want to find out how much an autopsy would cost.

Here is a website that explains that in North Carolina you can ask for a change by submitting a "Request To Change a Record Form":

https://vitalrecords.nc.gov/change.htm

 

[isis297]

Short answer: No. And as Ron pointed out, if the exclusion is FOR a broken hip, why in the world does she want it changed?

And the survivor benefits aren't going to change because of the nature of the CoD if this is for his military pension. Is there any way your MIL would sign up for an account here? Because there are answers to questions that you're not going to know.

I wish she could. My MIL can't even navigate email on her iPad so it sits unused. :-(

I don't think she's worried about the accidental death policy as much as she is the survivor's benefits. I don't know why she is adamant she's going to get less.

Would you mind asking me the questions and then I can call her and get the answers?

 

[Shadowbunny]

Here are my questions:

1) Is the Survivor's Benefit she's worried about a part of her husband's Military Retirement pension? Not a private supplement or annuity, but $$ that actually comes from the government.

2) WHO told her the CoD would affect her benefits?

 

[Zigner]

I wish she could. My MIL can't even navigate email on her iPad so it sits unused. :-(

To be fair, I'm pretty darned tech-savvy, and I have trouble with the Apple Mail program in iOS - it sucks.

 

[FlyingRon]

Again, your best bet is likely to have her go visit the veteran services office I sent you by PM. This is what they live for.

 

[isis297]

From what I understand there was an accidental death policy which apparently a broken hip/death due to surgery of one is an exclusion of, a life insurance policy, and survivor benefits. All I know is, she said what she was going to receive was going to be less because of the way the CoD was listed. Is there no way to just get the CoD changed by someone other than the original doctor?

Ok, so I found out that it is the accidental death policies that she is concerned about. Having said that, Parkinsons wouldn't be counted as an accidental death reason anyhow, would it?

 

[isis297]

Was this doctor your father-in-law's personal physician or a doctor who performed an autopsy?

If no autopsy was performed, you may want to find out how much an autopsy would cost.

Here is a website that explains that in North Carolina you can ask for a change by submitting a "Request To Change a Record Form":

https://vitalrecords.nc.gov/change.htm

I think the doctor was just the doctor at the VA hospice center. An autopsy was not done. My MIL said that she didn't understand looking back what the funeral home was telling her. She didn't think an autopsy would be needed, but looking back, she wished she had had one done. I guess they told her about some test after the fact, but by that point he had been cremated.

I will definitely look at the link you sent. But I'm not sure it matters now that I understand which policies she was upset about. I would guess Parkinsons OR a broken hip wouldn't help her in regards to them.

 

[Shadowbunny]

Ok, so I found out that it is the accidental death policies that she is concerned about. Having said that, Parkinsons wouldn't be counted as an accidental death reason anyhow, would it?

Parkinson's is most certainly NOT accidental.

 

[isis297]

Parkinson's is most certainly NOT accidental.

I figured. I don't understand why she was so adamant about getting the CoD changed then. I'm really sorry for wasting your time. She was so upset and I am actually one of those DIL's who loves her MIL so I wanted to help her if I could.

 

[Shadowbunny]

I figured. I don't understand why she was so adamant about getting the CoD changed then. I'm really sorry for wasting your time. She was so upset and I am actually one of those DIL's who loves her MIL so I wanted to help her if I could.

No apology necessary -- grief does weird things to people. She's blessed to have you in her life to help her through this storm; hopefully she's no longer focused on the CoD.

 

[adjusterjack]

But I'm not sure it matters now that I understand which policies she was upset about. I would guess Parkinsons OR a broken hip wouldn't help her in regards to them

You wrote earlier that she is "getting less" because of the cause of death on the death certificate. That leads me to believe that the life insurance policy had an accidental death benefit rider attached to it. The policy would pay the face amount for death by any cause and would pay an additional amount for death due to an accident.

If she wants to collect the accidental death benefit she will have to sue the life insurance company and seek a declaratory judgment that death was due to accident. Depending on how much money is involved it might be worth having her consult a life insurance attorney who has experience in such matters.