Insurance and Estate/Trust Administration
Joel Schoenmeyer recently offered the following very helpful information at his Death and Taxes blog:
A couple of insurance notes:
1. This article discusses something that fiduciaries (executors, administrators and trustees) sometimes forget when handling real estate: you need to make sure that it's insured. That can be somewhat tricky if the real estate is unoccupied. Even if the real estate IS occupied, some insurers may not want to take on the risk. "Risk" is the key word for a fiduciary, as you cannot be in a situation where a large asset like real estate is not insured.
2. In some cases, you may be administering an estate that is entitled to proceeds from a homeowner's insurance policy. I've got one of these situations right now -- the decedent apparently died in a fire that destroyed her entire house. I'm working with the insurance company to get paid, but realize that this is a negotiation. If the decedent had a $200,000 insurance policy, you probably won't get $200,000. But in order to maximize what you WILL get, you may want to consider hiring a private insurance adjuster. This is a person or company who will work on your behalf to get a fair settlement for the estate or trust you are administering, in the same way that the insurance company's adjusters will work to minimize the payout.
Source: Death and Taxes
