I have often written about preparing wills, buying insurance and stuffs like that. However, I didn’t know that it is such a hassles to clear up those necessary paperworks when a person died. Recently, my bro-in-law passed away after a short struggle with liver and kidney cancer. When he found out about his illness, he immediately arranged all the necessary paperworks. He was rather young, being only 53 years old and hence, didn’t do it earlier.
One of the plan he bought was the MRTA whereby his housing loan is fully settled after his death. Now, the insurance company and bank which provides the bank loan is creating a huge problems for his widow, who is my hubby’s sister. The bank wants all kind of documents, many of which had been surrendered to the authorities when they prepare his death certificate.
I didn’t know one can face so many daunting tasks like asking the cremation centre for a copy of the burial/cremation certificate, getting back a copy of his identity card which had been taken by the registration department and etc etc. It is certainly not a nice thing having to dig back all these documents from places which leave some sad memories to the widow.
Now, come to think of it, I think it is better off cashing back as much money as we can when we are alive and give it to our next of kin instead of waiting for them to claim when we passed on. Of course, that is provided we can afford to do that. Like for example, there is the cash for settlements where people can get a lump sum of cash instead of waiting for the periodic payment which may not offer the financial help one needs at that time. Then, there is the method of getting payment when we sell annuity .
Though all these may not be a good idea if we intend to leave money for our next of kin, sometimes, people may have to resort to it because of urgent financial needs. For example, at one point, my relative needs $10K each month to take care of his cancer treatment. He couldn’t afford it after his insurance claims exceeded the amount and he opted for public hospital where they gave him palliative care. So, we never know when we may end up with the same situation. We are better off aware how to raise funds when the situation calls for it. Find out how one can also get help when one sell structured insurance .
These are all preparations for rainy days. Now that I am more aware of the hassles of claiming a deceased insurance, settling his loans, transferring his properties, I will make sure that my family is well covered with adequate will so that my lawyer can deal with all the legworks and getting the paperworks done. I certainly cannot bear to go through so many departments and authorities if I am recently bereaved. My sister-in-law is lucky she has her brother (my husband) to do all the forms and etc for her.
