How Do I Determine If a Deceased Person Has Life Insurance?
Video Summary
How do I determine if a deceased person has life insurance? Well, that’s difficult. I can only give you some practical suggestions on how to do that. I’m unaware of any database that can be access, in order to find out if someone has a life insurance policy. Of course, the obvious thing to do is to go through whatever personal papers they have in order to see if you can’t find some evidence of it, such as a statement which would say that there’s a premium that’s owed. I don’t guess we have bank statements anymore, but look in the check registry to see if there’s a payment to a insurance company, if it’s a paid up policy. One of the things that we can look at is, or you can look at is, is at the end of the year in January, the insurance companies would send out a 1099 for any accrued interest on a paid up insurance policy, which then would give you some indication as to, that there is in fact, a life insurance policy out there.
But other than the practical approach, I don’t have a have solution. And then the next problem you have once you locate the life insurance policy, well, how do you know who the beneficiary is? That’s another problem. As far as the insurance companies, not wanting to talk to you since you’re not the beneficiary. So you can send in and ask them for a beneficiary claim policy and send them a death certificate with the cause of death to the insurance company. And hopefully they would then let you know whether you’re the beneficiary or not. And if the beneficiary of the life insurance policies deceased well, then you would need to open up a probate proceeding to recover the death benefit under the life insurance policy. So if you have any questions, give me a call at 727-847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos
Who Can Serve as A Personal Representative?
Video Summary
Who can serve as a personal representative? A Florida estate proceeding, a person must be related to the decedent. Meaning a blood relative must be a blood relative to be able to serve, or it can be a reasonable state of Florida. Either one can, can be appointed to serve. So if you’re not related and you live outside the state of Florida, even if you’re designated under a will, you are not qualified to serve at as a personal representative in Florida, you must be related or you must be a resident of the state of Florida it’s either of those qualifications. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos
Can I Legally Drive a Deceased Persons Vehicle?
Video Summary
Can I legally drive a deceased person’s vehicle? The answer to that is probably no. You need to, the person who would be entitled to drive the vehicle or would be the personal representative of the estate. So that means a probate proceeding would have to be commenced in order to have a personal representative or executor appointed. And then they could use the car. Automobiles can be transferred to children and spouses. So, I suggest that do be done soon, rather than later, so that it can be put in their names. They can insure it and drive it. The problem with your driving someone that deceased person’s automobile, is that you need to have insurance. And if you had an accident, well, both the estate would be responsible for were the accident. If it was your fault, as well as you, so you would have liability. So, I guess the short answer to this is, no, you don’t have a right to drive the deceased person’s vehicle. If you have any questions, give me a call at (720) 784-7228.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos
What is encroachment?
video summary
What is an encroachment, as when an object is placed over a boundary line. Most instances you get a survey which would show whether or not there is any objects, which are usually fences that may be encroaching on a boundary line. Hopefully it’s not a house or a permanent structure, but any event that a survey would show if there are any encroachments within the boundary line. Another example of an encroachment is when the encroachment is into a easement, let’s say there’s an easement across the back of your property, for utilities, and, and drainage. And you build a swimming pool and that the swimming pool is can encroach or be installed or portion of be installed into the easement that of being an encroachment into the easement. So encroachment is whenever something is, an object or something is put in over a boundary line. And that’s an encroachment. If you have any questions on that, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Real Estate, Videos
Who owns the personal possessions of a deceased person?
video summary
Who owns the personal possession of a deceased person? The probate code provides that the surviving spouse is entitled to $20,000 of household, personal property furniture, furnishings things such as that, plus, two motor vehicles. So if you have a probate proceeding that is considered exempt property, unless the property’s been specifically devised, if there’s no surviving spouse, well, then it goes to the children of the decedent and that they’re entitled to the $20,000 of furniture and furnishings and the two motor vehicles. The usual scenario that I hear, however, someone passes away. They don’t, the only thing that that’s available are the automobiles and, and the household furniture and furnishings. And, even if they have a will, they’re not going to go through probate because everything else is already was jointly owned or had been transferred outside of probate with the beneficiary.
So that present the problem, a functional family, you can get the children together and they can have the automobile transferred into their names or designate who they wish to have the automobile transferred to, on the furniture and furnishings. They can sort it out amongst themselves. When we have a dis functional family it’s problematic because it’s sort of the, I call it the U-Haul effect, whoever gets there first with the U-Haul wins because you don’t have a probate proceeding and if items are missing well, how do you prove what’s missing? What was given away beforehand? And furthermore, what’s the value and, and who took, who hauled it off. So in my career, I’ve never had a probate proceeding just for untitled personal property. So, hopefully you can work this out if there’s no probate proceeding amongst those files or the children. So if you have any questions about exempt property, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.