Smart Money: Funeral costs not on mom
Published: July 5, 2009
Font size: [A] [A] [A]
e-mail this
share thisDEAR BRUCE: My husband was killed this summer in a boating accident. His mother gave me a $400 policy to help with the funeral costs. A funeral today costs about $12,000. Afterward, she asked me for a death certificate, and I inquired as to why, and she said she had another policy that was a few thousand dollars. He was the middle child and was never treated the same as the other two. I understand that she paid for the policy when he was young, but wouldn't the proper thing to have done was to apply it to his funeral expenses or at least a portion of it? I don't think it's right that she gains from his loss of life. After all, I am the one that counted on his income, not her. - V.K., via e-mail
DEAR V.K.: In reading between the lines, your mother-in-law took out a policy on your husband many years ago when he was a child, and she is the beneficiary of that policy. Further, it would appear that she has paid the premium during those years. If that's the case, while I can understand how morally you might expect some of this money to be used to retire the funeral expenses, I can see no legal obligation for her to do so. She was the beneficiary on a policy that was in effect legally, no fraud involved. How the money is to be used is her call.
DEAR BRUCE: My dad recently passed away. His home is paid off and was left to my brother and me. I would like to buy out his share. I have not owned a home for 30 years. Am I a first-time homebuyer even though I would inherit the half share? - D.N., via e-mail
DEAR D.N.: You mentioned that you haven't owned a home for 30 years. The magic number is three years. You also said that your home is "being left," not "was" left. In other words, the home is still in the estate's name. You might wish to consult with an accountant, but I believe what you should be doing is buying the share, not from your brother (because then you would be owning half of the home) but from the estate with an agreement that your brother would get the entire proceeds.
SEND QUESTIONS to: Smart Money, P.O. Box 2095, Elfers, FL 34680 or bruce@bruce williams.com. Questions of general interest will be answered in future columns.
Be the first to comment on this article!