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I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your spouse's mother. Dealing with insurance paperwork and the loss of a loved one can be overwhelming, but there are resources available to help you navigate this process.

First, it's important to identify all of the insurance policies that may be relevant to the deceased's estate. This may include life insurance policies, health insurance policies, long-term care insurance policies, and any other policies that may provide financial coverage in the event of the policyholder's death. To find this information, you can start by looking through the deceased's financial records, including bank statements, credit card statements, and any other documents that may list insurance policy information. You can also try contacting the insurance companies directly to inquire about any policies that may be in place.

As for the names and addresses of doctors and hospitals that treated the insured over the past five years, this information may be available through the deceased's medical records. You can try contacting the hospitals and doctors directly to request copies of the records, or you can ask the insurance company for assistance in obtaining this information. Keep in mind that there may be privacy laws that govern the release of medical records, so it's important to follow the appropriate procedures when requesting this information.

Regarding next of kin, this term typically refers to the closest living relative of the deceased, such as a spouse, child, parent, or sibling. In most cases, the insurance payout would go to the designated beneficiary, who is typically named in the policy. If the beneficiary is not able to receive the payout, it may go to the next of kin as
determined by the terms of the policy and applicable state laws. It's a good idea to review the policy carefully and consult with an attorney if you have any questions about the distribution of the insurance payout.

I hope this information is helpful. Again, I'm sorry for your loss and I hope you are able to find the support you need during this difficult time.

You should be filing a claim form to the insurance company and depending on the face amount of the policy you may need a death certificate as well.

No idea why they need the doctors info or other policies. Sounds almost like you have an application not a claim form.

As for who gets the proceeds it depends. Some states require the spouse to get them. Really depends on who she had listed as the beneficiary on her application or and updated beneficiary forms.

EDIT: if the policy was taken out recently it could be in the contestable period in which they often do ask for medical records

Forget about the life insurance paperwork for a minute. Take some time to grieve, prepare for a service, or anything else that is more immediate. Even just getting a death certificate takes a few weeks, and life insurance isn’t going to do anything without that. Call them next week.

We called the insurance company and they mailed us the claim of death form. What's the worst that would happen if we only list the information we know instead of going through all the medical/banking records? Some of which we won't even have access too (banking) since her father is refusing to help us.

Sorry for the miscommunication, and thank you for the kind words. We have been grieving and taking it one step at a time, she died in November.

We have plenty of copies of the death certificate, the funeral home is already paid and services are already planned. It's just wrapping up all the legalities we're struggling with.

Thank you for the kind words

Thank you for the kind words, we don't have access to any of her financial records. Right now it's all being held by her father, who is refusing to help us, and truth be told -- he barely makes sense anymore so he probably wouldn't be too much help.

The only reason we know about this insurance is the fact her aunt stuck around to help clean up the property and found the insurance policy that lists my spouse as the beneficiary -- otherwise we wouldn't of known this policy exists.

If they need it then it just slows up the claim processing. Most policies with contestable clauses are a two year look back. If seen claims submitted many different ways. Depending on the company the proof of loss is the main need then it’s a matter of any claims against the policy. Any policy loans, assignment of benefits, child lien, etc.

The state of issue and the face amount drives a lot of the next steps and then of course any contestable review.

I would definitely talk to the insurance company before stressing out too much about this to see exactly what they need.

The beneficiary and next of kin are two different things and don't have to be the same person.

TBH, a lawyer is well worth it in this situation. They will sort all of this out for you, deal with creditors, discover all her bank accounts, who she owes money to, file her taxes (that will have to be done), etc. My brother is a lawyer, and when my father died, we still hired a lawyer, if that tells you anything. And my father only had a total net worth of maybe $50K when he died, not some complicated estate. The lawyer was worth his weight in gold. It will probably cost less than you think and will be paid by the estate. Ours ended up saving us more money than we paid to him. For example, her funeral expenses can be paid by the estate instead of by you. My grandmother was still alive when my dad died, which made her next of kin, not us. That ended up saving us a bunch of money on taxes, since my grandmother was in her 90s with no income.