Legal Question in Insurance Law in Pennsylvania

Re: auto ins death benifits

You asked about signing away rights regarding proceedings in an auto accident.

First, please accept my most sincere condolences on your loss. No parent should have to bury a child.

Now go and hire an attorney. Unless your daughter is married you will be the next most likely to act as next of kin as her child is obviously not old enough to act in his own interest.

You should seek to have an guardian appointed for the child. Depending on the situation, you may be directly opposed to the boyfriend. If the boyfriend is the child's father then that raises one set of concerns. Such as is he the proper person to raise the child? Was his parentage the reason that he was beneficiary of the insurance proceeds? If he is not the father then it was likely the intent of the daughter that the insurance was intended for the benefit of the minor child and I would suggest seeking the insurance money for the benefit of the minor child.

If the boyfriend was not the father of the child I would aggressively seek the relinquishment of the insurance proceeds for the benefit of the minor child.

You probably need to get an attorney to represent you in the name of the minor child. Do not sign away any rights until you have consulted with an attorney on this specific situation.

Regards,

Roger

Re: auto ins death benifits

First, please accept my condolences for your loss. This is a tragic situation for you.

As a general rule, parents do not usually allow boyfriends to represent their deceased child's interests. If you believe that he will only act in your grandson's best interests, then maybe it makes sense to allow him to represent her - but usually the parent is the most capable of representing a child under these circumstances. If that is the case, then you should seek your own attorney to handle this situation.

It seems to me that the money (not including the insurance policy that she made him beneficiary of, because that belongs to him alone) should be used to pay her bills, including her funeral, and the balance should be set aside for your grandchild. This requires some legal assistance to accomplish this properly.

Depending on the circumstances, there may be a potential to recover other compensation depending on the particulars of the case. An attorney can advise you whether there are other potential defendants (people to sue) once you tell us all of the facts.

If you want to speak to me at greater length about this, you should e-mail me and then I can contact you directly.

Again, I am very sorry for your loss.

Re: auto ins death benifits

I am so sorry about your daughter & this tragedy!! Please accept my condolences. Since your daughter was not married, either you and/or her other parent (I'm not sure if you're dad or mom) are her closest relatives, & have the legal right to act. You should not sign anything at this time. You should consult with an experienced attorney to get advice- I need more facts to help you at this point. I handle these types of cases. Please feel free to telephone my office. I will speak to you without charge and try to sort this out for you. Good luck!!