Owner of policy did not have a will

[jilllat]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Alaska
My mother recently passed away in Alaska. She and my dad held most of their assets as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. She did not have a will. My dad had taken out a whole life policy on himself years ago with her as the owner, and the beneficiary. He is 84 and has decided he wants to cash in this policy that he is still paying for. The policy is not paid up until he either dies or reaches 100. Due to his age, and a recent stroke, he has given me a durable power of attorney to handle all of his matters. We cannot locate the policy. I have requested that the insurance company send the policy but they have only sent a confirmation of the policy number, cash value, amount of coverage and confirmation as to the owner.

Since we don't have the policy I can't see the terms and conditions. I would like to know 1. What needs to happen for him to be able to cash in the policy that he has paid for? How long would this typically take? The insuror is Fortis. Is there anything that I can do as his POA to expedite this process or change the owner?

The cash value would be about 7,000. I do not believe that there will be any probate re: my mothers estate since virtually everything was held jointly. I would like to get this taken care of right away as I feel he needs the money. Thanks for your time and your help.

 

[Dandy Don]

It was smart of you to want to get a copy of the policy but that is not really necessary.

See if Fortis has a website where you can contact them through customer service and call or write them to ask them to send you the form for cashing this policy in, and they should send the information right to you. If they won't cooperate, then file a complaint with your state insurance commissioner so he can investigate.

 

[jilllat]

Owner of policy did not have a will.

Dear Dandy:

Thankyou for taking the time to help. The insurance company told me that only the "owner" can cash in the policy. Since my mother is deceased and she was the owner where does that leave us? Or can my dad cash it in since he presumably now owns all of her assets. (I have not as yet discussed this in depth with Fortis as I wanted to have a basic understanding of the lay of the land first.) Any additional thoughts would be appreciated. The State is Alaska.

 

[Dandy Don]

You need to be talking to Fortis now to find out exactly what their rules require. They may be saying that no one but the owner can cash it in, or they might allow the executor of the estate to cash it in, or they may be saying that no one will be getting this refund if they are not going to be paying out any money.