Oct
10
Protect Your Assets by Letting Your Heirs Know How to Claim Them
October 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Posted by: Kathleen Daniel
At this stage in life, who among us isn’t swamped with papers to keep track of? And not just ours but our parents’ as well. Insurance policies (life, long term care, auto, home), medical files (who see what doctor, their meds) financial documents (checking, savings, CDs, safe deposit boxes, investments), legal (wills, living trust). Staying on top of records is time-consuming – and important. Insurance companies and financial institutions don’t know when someone has died, and they have no incentive to let beneficiaries know what claims they can make. Not surprisingly, billions of dollars are unclaimed each year, because people didn’t know the benefits available to them or how to file for them. But help is one the way! Two enterprising entrepreneurs started WeRemember.org “So your loved ones don’t have to” last month to help people have a central place to identify their important documents, and to know exactly where to get copies of whatever they need, from insurance documents to wills when a family member dies. Users of the secure online site set up a profile detailing what policies they hold, where the will is filed, and who to contact to arrange claims. To ensure security, the site does not request Social Security numbers or even account numbers of policies.
The company’s database regularly connects to the Social Security Administration Death Index, where all deaths in the US are officially recorded. When a match is found, WeRemember verifies that the match is one of its profile users. After contacting a third to verify the death WeRemember contacts the beneficiaries to tell them how to execute claims against policies and accounts.
Anyone can set up a profile for free and give WeRemember.org permission to contact their beneficiaries for free upon their death. For a modest upgrade fee of $29.95 WeRemember will send the appropriate claims forms to be filed.
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