Whenever you are filling out forms, reading every little
aspect can become quite tedious at times. By the time, you get to page two, you
might be ready scan for signature blocks and get the papers away from you as
fast as possible. On most instances, you rely on the staff or agent to point
you to corrections or places you may have skimmed over too fast. This works for
most instances, but when it comes to life insurance, it can end up costing you
way more time to correct on the back end. I am talking specifically about contingent
ownership. By putting someone as a contingent owner, you allow them to access
and change the policy if you were to pass away before it takes effect. To
explain through scenario: Your spouse has ownership on your policy and you left
the contingent ownership space blank. Unforeseen tragedy strikes and your
spouse passes away before you do. Now, you are unable to make any changes to
the policy, even though it was on yourself.
The only way to make this change is to go to probate court
and present your case. This process can easily take up to 6 months or longer
and there is a chance you could lose. All of this could have been avoided, if
you were named as the contingent owner of the policy. So, is it too late to
make this change to your current policy? It is not. Call your agent today and
see if you have this portion filled out. If you do not, you can request an
ownership change form and make this easy update. Please feel free to reach out
to our life insurance department and we would be happy to fill you in on even
more ways to make your life easier and more enjoyable for those around you.
Information & Insight provided by Tammy Bigham