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This situation comes up a few times a year on C-D. I don't know the OP, but I have to wonder if the OP just wants the insurance money. Pay $100 a month and get $200k payout.
OP, I'm not accusing you of anything nefarious, but when a family member gets old, relatives start looking at insurance policies and inheritance. Unfortunately, this is common.
I didn't go looking for anything. All of this came up when my grandmother starting changing around the beneficiaries on her policies. Then the topic of what would happen to the house and her saying that she wanted to leave behind more money for me came up.
Clearly the OP needs to get more info about the ENTIRETY of the situation.
The OP's mom and aunt have been there near the grandma all along -- what has been THEIR involvement or influence?
I hope the OP will be at grandma's for a week...cause that's how long it could take just to get the BAICS of the situation, let alone try to do something about it...like getting an appointment with a lawyer and having paper's drawn up.
These things take some thought process.....You don't just pick someone to be POA, without some consultation. You don't just draft a will, or add names to deeds or transfer home ownership without knowing the ramifications.
For all the OP knows grandma has made some bad moves that need to be UNdone, first...or amended/corrected.
My mother has been down there all along. My aunt stays in NYC like I do but will be moving down there in a couple of months. My grandmother's plans have always been to leave my aunt everything and have her oversee all her affairs, but a lot of sketchy life/financial decisions that my aunt has made over the past few years has changed her mind about that. She now believes (and I do as well) that out of all parties involved, I am the most responsible and I can make the best decisions.
And yes, I will be down there for about a week. My grandmother should be getting a call from a lawyer this week to start putting things in motion.
Just don't expect to get any of it back in inheritance. I wonder why of all things you choose to help with that? Why not just give her money for clothes or food if she needs help?
Who said I expected to get any of it back? As I stated before she doesn't need help. My grandmother pays her life insurance on an annual basis. She once made a comment about her paying that so the family would have money after she's gone and that she would think that my aunt or mother would offer to help pay it. So when she said that, I offered to contribute.
My grandmother has a life insurance policy and she is looking to increase it to enough where I could pay off her house if she passed and she wants to leave me some money behind. I don't know whats the best way to go about doing this. Should we increase her current policy? Should I take out a policy on her, or should she get a whole new policy?
Any chance she signed up for credit life when she mortgaged the house? I actually know someone who did and the house was paid off when he passed. He wasn't as old as your grandma though. Usually it's not the best way to insure yourself but I know there was a time when they always tried to slip that in with mortgages and car loans.
I too think it's odd that you "help out" buy paying half of a specific bill, and not something like electricity or phone but the life insurance. Even when you admit she has plenty to live on. Think about it and tell us it doesn't sound weird.
Yep. Gifted property also has some other issues depending on if it is eventually disposed of at a gain or a loss, but carry-over basis is the standard treatment.
Excellent thought, Ceece.
MAYBE grandma has a mortgage insurance that will pay off her mortgage upon death. My parents had that.
Even if you were paying for her insurance policy I wouldn't necessarily don't think there'd be anything strange that. Your grandmother is the one who got the insurance. It's not like YOU are the one who took out insurance on her. AND...even if you did, so what? In my family people had insurances on relatives all the time. Back then it was seen as having the money to put you int he ground...pay for funeral and burial expenses. My mom had insurance policies on a few of her siblings, with her as the beneficiary.
The main thing for me would be to make sure -- decisions are clarified -- not just about the house. But making sure grandma is set up for the rest of her days, with POA, and other documents. AND since you're into it you might as well find out where she keeps her important papers, who her doctors are, who are her next of kin contacts on health forms, who is on her HIPPA forms, on her bank accounts. IF she lets you get into all that. Some older people are resistant to talk about such things. But all this really should be discussed. Then once everyone is on the same page, once it's all set up..you can set it and forget it. You shouldn't have to deal with it again...unless something changes.
You may not think that you as the grandchild need to get involved in all of this...especially with your mom and aunt being around. But it can't hurt to be aware. I had a friend who's MOTHER took care of all the grandmother's affairs. My friend, the grandchild, live states away, and it was handled by her mom. Well, the MOM died. And my friend was totally out of the loop on ALL her grandmother's info and affairs. She had to handle her MOM's sate -- AND try to get up to speed on the 102-year-old grandma's issues...house, insurance, soc. sec., doctors, etc
OR since all you REALLY asked about was the house.....take care of that and leave the rest alone....c'est la vie. Leave it all to chance....
((Forgive me for bringing up so many other things, when you only asked about the house. It's just that I took care of my elderly mom's affairs. And I know first hand, there can be many more surrounding issues than just who gets a house.))
Any chance she signed up for credit life when she mortgaged the house? I actually know someone who did and the house was paid off when he passed. He wasn't as old as your grandma though. Usually it's not the best way to insure yourself but I know there was a time when they always tried to slip that in with mortgages and car loans.
I too think it's odd that you "help out" buy paying half of a specific bill, and not something like electricity or phone but the life insurance. Even when you admit she has plenty to live on. Think about it and tell us it doesn't sound weird.
Maybe it's a family dynamics thing, but why would your grandmother feel like your mom and aunt should contribute to the life insurance premium - especially if she has the money to tend to her own affairs. Was it because one (or both) of them were listed as beneficiaries? Does that factor into why you contribute to th premium now?
This has all the makings for a very ugly scene when grandma passes. Make sure you know what you're getting into.
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