I recently received a letter from an insurance company stating my mother who died 4 years ago has an unclaimed insurance policy and they are...

Question

I recently received a letter from an insurance company stating my mother who died 4 years ago has an unclaimed insurance policy and they are looking for relatives. She had nothing, no money, property or valuables so just the few personalitems were divided as to her will. They want to know if her estate is probated. What does this mean exactly? What does this mean to the insurance policy being paid as they are saying that the money may be turned over to the state as reuired by unclaimed property laws.

Answer

Probate means a representative for her estate to collect assets is appointed by a court. If this is the only asset and if it's under $100,000 then you might be able to use a small estate affidavit instead of probate. It sounds like she had a will, so those terms would control who gets what. Since it's been more than 2 years since death, claims against the estate (debts) should not be an issue. If it's over $100,000 though then a probate estate would still have to be opened by the named executor or by someone else with an interest.

Answer

You should be able to discuss the use of a Small Estate Affidavit provided the policy is less than $100,000.00, which is likely. Most probate attorneys can help and it can probably be done by phone, E-mail and fax. Call them and ask specifically about a Small Estate Affidavit as they probably will not bring it up.

Answer

Did the insurance company state whether a beneficiary is listed on the policy? If so, then the beneficiary gets the proceeds of the insurance policy and there is no need to open an estate or do a Small Estate Affidavit. If you have any further questions, I can be reached at 312-372-5600.