Friday 7 October 2011

I need a death certificate and/or social security number for a client.?

The person who needs this death certificate pays the insurance premiums on her father. She is not listed as the beneficiary. The beneficiary, her half sister died. My client needs the death certificate to change the policy so that she is the beneficiary, and can handle proceeds and take care of things if her father should pass. The insurance company needs a social security number for her father for her to make this change. We have not been able to get the social security number either. The funeral director refuses to give the death certificate or the social security number. The insurance company will not give the social security number either. I told her to go on the internet and do a person search. After spending for one company and not getting the needed information she gave up fearing that the people search could go on and on from company to company without getting needed information.

Her father is too ill to handle any business and change the papers.





If anyone knows who to get a social security number or death certificate, please respond.
I need a death certificate and/or social security number for a client.?
She should go before the court and petition to be given power of attorney for her father. She'll then be able to sign the papers herself to change the beneficiary.



(In addition, if the listed beneficiary is dead, the proceeds from the insurance should go to her as next of kin automatically.)
I need a death certificate and/or social security number for a client.?
Only the owner or the legal power of attorney could make any changes to the policy's beneficiary. If there is no living beneficiary, the policy is paid to the estate and distributed accordingly.



If he is too ill to change a beneficiary form, he is too ill to create a power of attorney.



You should explain this to her instead of making her think she can change something she can't. Just because she is the payer does not give her any rights to the policy. Deal with the reality of the situation.
Death certificates are public records. You can get them at the same place you get birth certificates--whatever county or city office handles that sort of thing in your area.



As for the social security number, you will need power of attorney in order to get it from the social security administration. Isn't there someone else in this family who might have this information?
Her father needs to appoint her as Power of Attorney. That will give her the right to manage his financial affairs, including obtaining information such as his social security number. They need to see a lawyer to have this done. Also, she can not make any changes to her father's insurance unless she has the POA because only the owner or the owner's representative can change the beneficiary.
The social security number is on the death certificate.



a birth certificate is a matter of public record. You can order it online or write a letter to the register of deeds.
Unless she is the policy holder, she cannot change the beneficiary clause. Just writing the check is not enough.



But death certificates are public records - all she needs to do to get one, is go to the city where the sister died, or the state office of vital statistics - pay a fee, and a certified copy of the death certificate will be mailed to her.



She doesn't need the social security number of the deceased sister. It's private information, and she can't get it.



If SHE is the policy owner, then she doesn't need ANY of this to change the beneficiary. If her father is too ill, and she's power of attorney, and she tries changing the beneficiary to her, there's going to be an issue come collection time. But a power of attorney usually won't give permission to change a beneficiary clause. She's better off, using that power, and finding out if there's a contingent beneficiary.