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You bought your home several years ago. You and your spouse were all excited about the purchase. You did everything you were supposed to do at that time – i.e got your recorded deed, set up the mortgage, got title insurance, set up the electric and water/sewer accounts, then called up your homeowner’s insurance policy to start up a policy. But…did you inadvertently skip naming your spouse on the policy?
This past week we had not one but two instances where we found out (post death of one spouse) that the surviving spouse’s name was never listed on the policy. How did we find out? In one case, we had transferred the house into an irrevocable trust to do some pre- planning for Medicaid. The house got recorded in the name of the trust and when the spouse called to add the trust as an additional insured, she found out that she had no authority to do so!! Many irate phone calls later and several calls to coordinate trustee availability across different time zones, we were finally able to get the trust and the surviving spouse listed on the policy. What should have been a 5min call took almost 10 days to resolve along with undue stress and inconvenience for all parties involved. Additionally, what if the problem was never discovered and the house suffered damage during this time? What if there was a fire/theft/flood that required the spouse to file a claim?
Well, that is where all the problems begin. The insurance company could likely deny reimbursement of claims because the spouse was not on the policy.
Spend a few minutes and check your policy coverage today. If your spouse’s name is missing, call the company immediately to add him or her on! And of course, always consult with your counsel before doing anything that could impact your overall estate plan.