accelerated death benefit and/or viatical settlement

[kokopelli2017]

i learn so much from this site. i did not think my onc would sign the paperwork for an accelerated death benefit but i put a call in and her "forms' person got back to me and this may be an option. if not, i am also working with a firm that brokers viatical settlements. my policy (that i have been paying into for 15 years) is about to expire mid march so need to get this done quickly.

the only reason i even knew about these options is from this board!!! i think it was a post from Dancer1000 that enlightened me! thank you Dancer1000 and all the others who posted. extra cash would be huge help.

hugs....

carole

xo

[Tolife_18]

Hi Carole, assuming that these benefits are available in US, can you provide the details? I wasn’t able to find by searching the site. Many thanks,

Polina

[Iwasborntodothis in reply to Tolife_18]

It's not a federal or state benefit but early pay out of an existing life insurance policy is allowed with some forms filled out by your doctor. This helped pay for my sister's in home caregivers and was a huge blessing.

[Tolife_18 in reply to Iwasborntodothis]

Thank you so much for your reply Carole. Is it applicable to the term life insurance? It would help us as well to pay for some housekeeping/caregiving services given that I severely mobility impaired.

[Iwasborntodothis in reply to Tolife_18]

I'm not sure but I would sure ask

[Tolife_18 in reply to Iwasborntodothis]

Did you contact dr office first or started the process by discussing it with insurance?

[Iwasborntodothis in reply to Tolife_18]

Started with doc and asked him to help us with any forms - they are used to doing this

[kokopelli2017 in reply to Tolife_18]

hi Polina,so sorry to hear of your impaired mobility....so challenging to deal with....and my heart goes out to you!

so let me first explain the 'accelerated death benefit'.....

first....i too have a 'term' life policy! my policy has an accelerated death benefit 'rider' attached to it. these riders state that insured will die within a certain time frame....some state 6 months, some 12 months, and some 24 months. my particular rider has the 12 month time frame. please read thru your policy or call customer service or your insurance agent for this info. there is no point to call your doc first if you do not have the rider.

the next step is whether your oncologist will sign the form??? that is the BIG question. i called my oncologist office and left a message. i was surprised but my onc said YES...she would sign. my biggest problem with this, at the moment, is that i cannot get thru to my insurance company to obtain the needed form., but i will keep calling! once i obtain the correct form...i will bring to my onc and she will sign and i will submit the form.

if you do NOT have an acc death benefit rider, then another option is to try the Viatical Settlement route. this is a third party that acts as a broker to sell your life insurance policy for a reduced sum. i am working with welcomefunds.com and their phone number is 877-227-4484. however if you google viatical settlements, you will find many to choose from. but i feel this particular company is very reputable and has so far, been very helpful.

not sure if i answered all your questions but feel free to ask away with more questions if needed. i hope this was helpful. good luck with all.

sending a big hug,

carole

xoxo

[kokopelli2017 in reply to Tolife_18]

not sure how all the accelerated death benefit riders work.....but mine allows me to take 50% of the total sum of the policy. the remaining 50% will still go to my designated beneficiaries upon my death.and as for the viatical settlement....they will only deal with you if your current policy is for a minimum of $100,000. or at least that is true of the company i am working with.

hope this helps!!

[Tolife_18]

Thank you so much Carole for your prompt and thorough response. I’ll contact my insurance company to obtain the complete policy and will take it from there. Do you know if this amount is taxable?

Wishing you all the best,

Polina

[kokopelli2017 in reply to Tolife_18]

hi again Polina. very good question but don't know the answer. i just started this process and haven't yet looked into the tax question. maybe someone else on this board knows the answer?

peace,

carole xo

[Thrifty51]

Regular life insurance proceeds are not taxable so I wouldn’t think the early payout would be either. This is from my experience and I am a retired CPA but there is a lot of info that this chemo brain can’t understand anymore!

[Iwasborntodothis in reply to Thrifty51]

I don't remember my sister paying any taxes on this payout

[Cowgirl1951]

I checked into this last year. Mine would have been taxable since it was not paid out as death benefit and I have forgotten which figure they use to base the taxable amount on. I am sure your insurance company can tell you the specifics. Policies can have different clauses. It would be interesting to have feedback from someone that has done this. Good luck.