My 93 yr old mom has 2 policies that have no beneficiary listed. She is in a state where she can't do anything now. Hospice has her on morphine so she can't eat, get up, move her hands or even open her eyes. She is in a nursing home with Hospice and went down hill within the last 2 weeks. There will be lots of bills to pay. What can I do to have me listed as TOD? I have a POA now and also am financial POA for her. What I want most in the world is to have her back healthy, able to talk and smile, go shopping with me like we've done for years and work in her garden but I'm beginning to see that won't be possible anymore. So sad! Any suggestion would be appreciated. I have one brother that lives in the same town but he hasn't even visited her since my dad died in 2006. I've always been there for her for everything.
May I extend my condolences on the state of your mother. This is a very tough time.
Is Medicare paying for the nursing home? Or are you privately paying?
Hospice is free-a benefit from Medicare, so you shouldn't be billed for that. Definitely report them if you get billed.
Since she hasn't named any beneficiary(s), I would think the estate would go to her next of kin-you and your brother would split her assets.
I don't know if you would be responsible for her debt but her creditors probably would try to get it from the estate.
HOWEVER daily room & Board costs at the NH are NOT covered by hospice. That will need to be paid and it’s either private pay or Medicaid. Prepare to be approached by the NH as to how her stay will be paid as she is now outside the initial Medicare paid 20 day post hospitalization discharge to a NH/rehab. My mom was in a NH on Medicaid, fell shattered a hip & then onto Hospice 18 l....o....n...g months. Hospice is a wonderful benefit but Medicaid or family will need to pay the R&B daily charge at a NH.
If it should come to the point that your mom applies for Medicaid, one of the items looked at will be if she has any life insurance policies and if they have a cash value. Whole life policies do and they sadly will need to be cashed in. Term life usually have no value till death and they should get looked at at only what the original face value of the policy is. If they should need to get cashed in (“surrendered”) your dpoa paperwork should be ok for doing that. Life insurance companies are used to dealing with these and have a system to do it. Hopefully they are term so you don’t another thing to deal with right now.
But whether term or whole, there will be a beneficiary. If it’s not a person that’s named specifically within then I’d bet it’s that the beneficiary is her estate. (My dad had his term life this way & it was common for older policies to have it for “estate” so it could be $ definitely there to cover probate & estate management costs.) IF it becomes an asset of an estate - like a check is issued as “estate of Mary Smith Jones”- then you are going to need to establish why it’s within your control and find a way to deposit it. If she has a will and names you as executor then you can do this via a probate court process. Just what is available to you is very dependent on what your state allows (small estates affidavit, muniment, full probate,etc) or if there is no will then whatever you need to do to establish lineal heirship. If she currently has a bank account that you are a signature on & POD to you, try to see if the bank will allow for the account to stay open past her death; it rolls over to your name & SS#. My mom’s bank actually suggested this and it was seamless, easy and I used it to pay anything probate even using the old checks. I did not have to get a Estate irs # for probate.
And if she goes onto Medicaid, any assets of her estate can be included for possible Estate Recovery by Medicaid. If you do end up applying for Medicaid, her life insurance policies get submitted so Medicaid knows what’s what within them. Pay off funeral & burial first and foremost though.
Yeah like it not enough overwhelming with your mom being ill and dying....
It depends on your state law and what powers you were granted in the POA.
I had a POA that did allow me to change life insurance beneficiaries, and I did it; so I know it's possible in my state.
If there is no named beneficiary, life insurance proceeds will be paid only to the estate. The estate will be required to use the funds for any outstanding bills incurred before her death, and for final expenses (funeral, etc).
If her POA does not permit this then the policy proceeds will be paid to her estate. The next question will be: does she have a living trust (becomes irrevocable at death) and a "pour over" Will that instructs assets not titled in the name of the trust to be "poured into" the trust for administration purposes?
If not, then the proceeds of the policies will be subject to the terms of her Will and probate administration.