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My mother passed on but she had a good life. At 84 she had two heart valves replaced and had another 4 years or so added to her life but the last two or so she had really gone downhill. She was 91.
I could not see her much in later years as I have medical problems which prevent me from traveling much myself but I talked to her almost every week. We were 1000 miles apart.
In view of the fact that she was in pain and such and did not want to depend on her husband who was also in his early 90s it was good and well that she passed on. He knows that he will most likely be in a nursing home for care himself very soon.
But the other day my sister called and neither of us knew but she apparently left an insurance policy, an annuity, that had been paid for years and years ago which is now worth some $87K, to be split by the two of us.
Funny how when you reach a stage in life that you don't need the funds that you get them.
I seem to remember her telling me she had a small insurance policy some 20 years ago or so. I told her that we did not need it and to cash it in and have a ball.
Apparently she did not listen to me.
Does Dad have funds for care? That 87 grand will get you through a year or two, depending.
(not meaning to be a downer).
OP said mother's husband, not father.
OP look at this way, if you got that money when you were younger you have more than likely p**sed it away, you're older now and you can invest it or spend it wisely.
I seem to remember her telling me she had a small insurance policy some 20 years ago or so. I told her that we did not need it and to cash it in and have a ball.
Apparently she did not listen to me.
A mother, no matter how old she is, often puts her children first.
If your insurance payout is $87,000 now for a death, it is probable that if she "cashed it out" 20 years ago she would have only received a small fraction of that.
My daughter has a small policy that we got when she was a child to provide enough money to bury her (plus a little extra for travel to the funeral, etc. expenses) in case something horrible happened (as we had very little money saved at that time). It is now worth about $14,000 as a death benefit but only about $2,000 if she/we cashed it out. A number of years ago the death benefit was something like $12,000 but the cash value was only $500 or $600.
DH and I inherited money when our parents died, which was nice to receive, but not unexpected. After my father died, my stepmother left me a small insurance policy, apart from my brother and sister, because I flew in and stayed to help her when she had breast cancer.
When we were first married, with young children, my husband unexpectedly received a small inheritance from his uncle, who was childless. It was $22k in the 1980s, so it was a lot of money then, and it was so nice of him to do it. I think it was because I invited my husband's great aunt and uncle for Thanksgiving. It was the first time in many years they were included in anything, since my MIL was ill, and it was her aunt and husband. I think this small gesture, to include them, is why they left us the money. Truly, my husband is the only one who cared about the uncle's old war records and the keepsakes he left from when he was a lawyer.
When my husband was a child, this uncle had some connection to one of the Cleveland sports teams. Baseball, I think. So my husband has fond memories of visiting and spending time with this uncle.
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