how do i find out if my father has life insurance?

Question

my father just died two days ago, however I need to bury him and I have no idea about how to do it, where to get started etc. I am his only child and he mentioned years ago that he had life insurance however since then his life has gone downhill and I don't know how to go about knowing if he has life insurance or not. If I can't not find it are there any charities to assist me on this? I don't know what to do and this is all very stressful. Please anyone help!

Answer 1

I'm sorry for your loss.

If he had an attorney, check with him to see if there was a will. You'll need to look through his papers and see if you can find a policy. Or go through bank records and see if you can find where he made a payment for insurance. He may have paid it annually so you'll probably need to check his bank records back at least a year.

If he had any assets, you'll probably need to hire an attorney anyway just to get through probate, unless he had a trust set up.

The first thing to do is get through the funeral. That's the tough part. Then you'll need to just start going through his stuff. All the paperwork, financial records, bank statements, everything you can find. It's a daunting task and difficult to do, especially when every time you open another envelope, you'll likely find something that sends you into tears. It does get better. It doesn't go away but it does get better.

Good luck.

Answer 2

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Obviously, the first question is how to pay for the funeral. Call some of your local funeral homes or the coroner's office in your county and ask them how they handle the burial expenses of indigent people (people without assets) or if there are any agencies that assist with burial expense. They will be your best source of information. Just because you are his daughter doesn't make you financially responsible for your father's burial expenses. Did your father own the house where he lived? Did he have any assets of any kind (car, for example)? The sale of those assets or assignment of the assets from the sale of those assets may make it possible to fund a funeral. Social Security will pay $250 upon notice of death. You may wish to elect cremation and then hold a memorial service in a church to avoid the greater expense of a funeral. Was your father a veteran? If so, he may be eligible for burial in a national cemetary. Once the funeral is behind you, it will be necessary to go through all of your father's papers to see if you can find any documentation of insurance. You'll want to route all mail to your address so you can see if there are any insurance premiums he pays for life insurance. You'll need to advise creditors of his death, which will require a certificate of death. You aren't responsible for his debts if he died intestate (without a will) and without an estate.

Answer 3

Sorry about your loss. You don't need to find the answer today or tomorrow; meaning, you have time to dig through the papers he left behind to see if he had life insurance. There isn't a deadline of a few days to find out, you have time to investigate.

Ultimately, though, the only way to find out will be to go through his papers.

Answer 4

look thru his legal papers and affairs. at some point a statement would come.