In other unrelated bank business, the other day I went to set up an appointment to deal with my (now dead) father's accounts, which someone needs to be able to get to to pay off things like the remaining nursing home bill. As I was describing the situation (pretty simple and not anything that will need to go through probate, knock on wood) the manager guy I was talking to asked if my father had life insurance.
I said no, I didn't think so.
He made a face.
I asked Why? since I thought maybe that would complicate things (though I don't see how it should, given it's nothing to do with the bank-related part of his assets). No, he said, but it pained him to see someone die without life insurance, then explained that he used to work in insurance.
I was puzzled by this.
Walking out I realized it never even occurred to me that my father would have taken out a life insurance policy. After all, what is life insurance? It's something you pay money for that will only benefit your family. You know, people that aren't you. Or in my father's case, not him. Why on Earth would he ever spend money on something like that?
About This Blog
Documenting our frustrations and triumphs as we clean up after a compulsive hoarder, our dad. He saved forty years worth of junk including old cars, piles of lumber, refrigerator drawers full of rusty bolts, bent nails, shingles, transmissions, broken power tools, &c., &c., &c.; so basically we grew up in a junkyard. At one point there were 78 cars on this acre and a half (residential) lot.
So there will probably be some venting. If you are a hoarder, or sympathetic to hoarders, you will want to avoid this place. You will certainly want to avoid leaving hoarder-sympathetic comments. At any rate we'll make it easy for you: we'll delete any such comments promptly, because this is meant to be a safe space for the children of hoarders.
So there will probably be some venting. If you are a hoarder, or sympathetic to hoarders, you will want to avoid this place. You will certainly want to avoid leaving hoarder-sympathetic comments. At any rate we'll make it easy for you: we'll delete any such comments promptly, because this is meant to be a safe space for the children of hoarders.
About Our Authors
Thalia and Tara grew up in this place. It kind of sucked. Since our father went in a nursing home and could no longer prevent us, we've started to clean the place up (he has since died). It's not much fun, honestly.
The Yard At Its Worst
Countdown With Rusty
Sixteen Down, Ten To Go
Iron Removed
Since March 2008 (at least):
Number of trips to the scrap yard: 61
Pounds of iron removed: 46,440
In tons: 23.22
Number of trips to the scrap yard: 61
Pounds of iron removed: 46,440
In tons: 23.22
He Saved What??
A fifteen-foot long rubber raft. I'm not even sure dad could swim.
Old electrical cords. Not extension cords, mind you, but scary frayed things cut off of old lamps or appliances.
The waxed paper from inside cereal boxes.
Rinsed-out paper cups from the free coffee from Building #19.
Old electrical cords. Not extension cords, mind you, but scary frayed things cut off of old lamps or appliances.
The waxed paper from inside cereal boxes.
Rinsed-out paper cups from the free coffee from Building #19.
Take Out The Trash by They Might Be Giants
Iron Man by Black Sabbath
Junk by Paul McCartney
Number One by The Rutles
9 Secret Steps by They Might Be Giants
Trash Day by Weird Al Yankovic
Metal Guru by T. Rex
Metal Detector by They Might Be Giants
It's All Too Much by The Beatles
Take It Away by Paul McCartney
Climbing the Walls by They Might Be Giants
Uncle Walter by Ben Folds Five
We Live In A Dump by They Might Be Giants
Followers
Other Blogs by Children of Hoarders
Labels
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- Best Little Hoardhouse (19)
- Books (7)
- Breezeway (4)
- Cartharsis (7)
- Cellar (14)
- Don't Wanna Know (2)
- Garage (26)
- He saved that? (1)
- History (13)
- I Am Iron Man (50)
- Lemonade (4)
- Magazines (4)
- OCPD (10)
- Precioussss (25)
- Progress (38)
- Rusty Say GOODBYE (21)
- Saab Story (15)
- Shed (22)
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- Year In Review (4)
8 comments:
Yeah, my father didn't have life insurance either, for the same reasons.
But you can bet your ass he had a policy on my mother. Naturally.
If I were you two, I would check all of his charge card accounts and credit union or bank accounts to make sure that none of them had "free" life insurance associated with them. Sometimes these accounts provide a minimal amount of life insurance ($1K to $2K) as a free benefit. This is especially true of credit unions. You might find that you and your sister or your mom is entitled to a small amount of money. Please do check ~ nothing ventured, nothing gained. I wish you well.
Anonymous is right. My dad has been dead for more than 15 years, and last year I was notified of a couple of old policies he had taken out. My sibs and I each got around $600.
If your father worked for a large company at any point there may also be insurance from them, too. This happened to my FIL, unknown to him his company had taken out a policy on him likely when he started with the company and it paid out even though he was retired. It just takes a few phone calls to the places he worked and banked and may pay off.
For my deceased MIL, a long-ago job led to an annuity that paid her husband when she died. No one knew about it until the executor stumbled across some forgotten paperwork. MIL was hoarder-ish due to untreated bipolar disorder, so it was a miracle anything helpful was found. Who knows what the executor might have missed? I hope you have better luck.
Oh, and don't forget to look up your father's name in any state where he lived. You never know: he might have a little money lying around in an orphaned account. My brother got several hundred dollars from our local electrical co-op after he moved, but they didn't know how to reach him, so he didn't know. I looked him up, found the money, and notified him.
Go to the state's own website to do this--most states have a free service of this type. Don't pay money to businesses that promise to find the money for you.
Reminds me of the days when I worked for a financial planner. One of his clients was divorcing her abusive husband, also a client. He was a loser as well as an abuser; after she stopped making payments on his numerous outdoor toys, he refused to work for an entire summer, went off and sulked in the woods instead, and then complained when his toys got repossessed--that kind of thing. Anyway, the court ordered him to get a life insurance policy with her as the beneficiary. He was young and healthy, so life insurance was cheap. But he smugly proclaimed that he had been ordered to get one, but not keep it, so he was going to let it lapse, neener neener.
The policy was designed to give him tax-free retirement income should he live to old age.
Some people really do cut off their noses to spite their faces.
Oh, hey, I found it!
Unclaimed dot org (NOT dot com) will connect you to the state unclaimed property offices of your choice. Also check out treasuryhunt dot gov in case you should be looking for savings bonds under the film canisters full of screws behind the box of cracked floor tiles beneath the 75th half-stripped engine in the second garage.
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