What to do if a dementia patient canceled his life insurance shortly before his death?
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What to do if a dementia patient canceled his life insurance shortly before his death?
My father, who was suffering from dementia and other illness, recently passed away. Approximately 2 months before he went into the hospital he began making very erratic choices including cancelling his life insurance, stopped paying bills, etc. Is there any recourse to take up with the insurance issue. He paid this premium for 40+ years and 4 months before he died cancelled the policy? An action which a court I assume would likely attribute his rapidly deteriorating mental capacity.
Asked on January 4, 2012 under Insurance Law, Missouri
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Good question. The problem that I see is did your father's life insurance carrier have any knowledge before he cancelled his life insurance policy that he really had no mental capacity to know what he was doing? Unless you have some evidence that someone tied to the insurance company knew that your father was mentally unstable at the time he cancelled his life insurance policy, you would seem to have a difficult time in reinstating coverage especially if premiums were not being paid.
I suggest that you consult with an attorney that practices in the area of elder care law for further advise on the question that you have written about.
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