Insurance Policy

[aka pixi]

15 years ago my mum took out an insurance policy for my daughter (then 3 years later took one out for my son) It was one of those policies where after the time is up you recieve a lump sum bonus.

My mum did this so when the kids were older they would have a bit of money saved to spend however they wanted.

Two years ago my mum died. My daughter has just been round and told me that my dad has recieved all the paperwork saying the policy is now up. The bonus is around �1500.00 and he is just waiting for the cheque to come through. He has told my daughter that he is keeping the money himself.

I am livid about this. My mum only took the policies out so the kids had a bit of money to help them out (be it for college, a car or to spend on crap if they wanted to)

The policy is in my daughters name (but i think the cheque would be in my dads name, as he informed them when my mum died) Im sure that my dad cant keep it himself. Surely it must be against the law for him to do this?

My mum regularly told the kids that they would have the money in the future and both of them have plans about how they would spend the money.

[WendyS]

Do you know the name of the company with whom your mother took out the insurance policy? If so, you should write to them quoting the policy number and can then find out whether it was actually in your daughter's name.
Also, did your mother make a Will and was your father the Executor of it? As executor he would naturally have been the one to handle the tidying up of her affairs, but if indeed the insurance policy was in your daughter's name then he has no legal right to keep the money and the insurance company might possible make out the cheque in your daughter's name, although it could be made out in your father's name as Executor. However, if the policy was in your mother's name, your father has a legal right to it, but not a moral one if he knew your mother intended the money for her granddaughter. if you can't persuade your father to hand over the money, you will have to decide whether �1500 is worth causing a family rift over.

[aka pixi]

hi wendy, thanks for your comments. My mum never made a will, but I know the policy is in my daughters name as I have seen paperwork before about it. I cant remember if my mums name was on it as well though it probably was as she was paying for it.

I already asked my daughter to find out the insurance companys name and Im just waiting on her getting back to me.

The reason I am so angry about this is because my mum never had a lot of money and this was her way of trying to help out the kids.