It’s not the insurance company’s money. It’s the OP’s son’s money.
I guarantee you that they will make more income off holding that money than they would pay in interest–that’s their vested interest in holding on to it. Why shouldn’t the boy be making that income while the money is held in trust in his own account?
Bullshit.
Not really. They’re generally regarded as pushing whole-life products that are abnormally high for the industry. And whole-life sucks ass anyway.
You can’t be too careful with banks and minors. I set up a savings account for my eldest daughter with Bank of America. Those assholes treated the account as a regular savings account and started stealing fifteen bucks a month from her because they filed a wrong form. It took me three visits and several months to get them to refund the money.
I am sorry about your mom’s passing although I know your feelings about her are mixed at best.
I don’t work for NWM, nor do I know enough about what is going on to give you a good answer, but based on this thread I would either, let NWM hold it until he turns 18 then have him claim it, or call the state insurance department. They take most phone calls very seriously (at least in my state).
Really Not All that Bright - ok, maybe not each and every, but most of them.
Labrador - WL does not suck ass. Maybe for you, but there are certainly many situations where it is the better product for somebody. The one size fits philosophy of only buying term is bad advice.
Fair enough then.
Bull. Its a good choice for a very small subset of the population. Most people who buy it are given a snow job, don’t understand how investing works, or have no idea how much term they can get for the same price.
Well, this thread seems to show otherwise, since they are making up "laws’ and refusing to pay out.
My Bro, who worked for the IRS for 20 years sez there is no such law.
Yes.
And it’s worth a try beforehand to get an attorney with knowledge of state laws applicable in this situation to write a letter to the insurance company informing them that unless funds are released to you there will be 1) a complaint to the state, and 2) legal action.
It wouldn’t surprise me if they then discovered that why yes, they can legally release the money to you.
It would make me happy if they would apply the same standards of care to EVERYTHING they do, instead of having a double standard. Did you notice the difference in their response:
I want to move the funds (which I am entitled to do, by the way; I am the executor of my mother’s estate) to a special account set up for my son = NOOOOO! WE NEED UNREASONABLE PAPERWORK.
I want to leave the money with Northwestern = okay, sure, we’ll accept a VERBAL notification from your husband (not even the executor of the estate, and just some male voice as far as they know) that these are your wishes, even though we have paperwork in our possession stating the opposite.
I don’t think they are trying to “steal” the money outright, but I do think they are “stealing” the right to keep the money so that it is in their portfolio instead of where it would be in the best interests of my son to put it.
To all of the posters suggesting I go after NM - in theory, I completely agree, and I also thank you for the support - a little shared indignation is always a day-brightener!
But one does have to pick one’s battles. My mother left her estate in a little bit of disarray (not too bad, I’m not really complaining - but let’s just say it is taking a bit of work to sort things out) and I’m a bit overworked at the moment. If I didn’t have other things on my plate, I’d go after them relentlessly. However, the cost would fall mostly on me, in terms of stress, time, phone calls, paying an attorney, etc. There are other things that need my attention more than this matter does. So, as much as I might enjoy hassling them, I’m not going to.
Here’s a question. What if you’re son filled out the paperwork to get HIS* money. How could NM stonewall that. If NW keeps the money they will charge you up the ass.
But let me ask a question, what does the executor or probate court have to say about this? Isn’t it their job to make NM pay up?
*Like Steophan I’m not accusing you of trying to steal the money but I technically and legally it is his and so NM loses that opportunity to come up with an excuse to hold his money.
ETA: Just saw you’re the executrix. I say you file a motion with the court ordering them to pay out.
The paperwork is the same no matter who fills it out. They request information about the beneficiary, including birth date. The forms make clear that minors do not have the power to do anything - the guardian has to sign. So the only difference between my son filling out the forms and a guardian filling out the forms is who provides signatures at the end. If he signs, it isn’t valid because he is a minor (I have no problem with this BTW - it seems pretty standard that minors can’t sign a lot of legal papers.)
I do appreciate the idea of filing a motion to order them to pay; like I said earlier, it would be a satisfying battle if I had the time.
Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I always thought life insurance didn’t go through the estate and the executor, unless the estate is listed as a beneficiary. A named beneficiary gets the money without the executor being involved at all.
The key point of the whole thread. Insurance companies don’t give a damn about anything, except making money. Allstate doesn’t have “good hands”, they have grubby hands. State Farm is not your neighbor, unless it’s the one who blasts music at full blast all hours of the night and hasn’t mowed their lawn in five years. And Nationwide is decidedly not on your side!
They’re probably behind me.
And I bet I know what they’re doing back there.
Don’t be a pussy! You owe it to US to bring the fight to them! Salt their fields, scorch their earth, take off and nuke 'em from orbit! (it’s the only way to be sure)
And give us regular updates, you owe us that too, so we can give you more excellent advice. It’s in the user agreement. Really. And no, I’m not going to look it up for you.
Fair enough. 
Yeah!