Preliminary Death Certificate

xuanphung

New member
I’m sorry this is so long-I have a strange situation which I cannot find an answer to online and hope y’all can help.

My ex husband passed away last week.
I have a policy on him which I pay for, and am the beneficiary of, because we have a 4 year old child. I’ve had the policy five years, past the two year “suicide clause.” In which case it would pay out, if indeed it was suicide.

Because initially, his death appeared to be suicide. Now, I am not so sure.

He was bipolar, off his medication and for weeks has been suicidal. I attempted to get him help, called family, sent the police to his house in hopes of getting him put on psychiatric hold, several times…but he lives literally on the other side of the country in California, so it’s been extremely difficult.

I FaceTimed with him the night he died, and there was a sketchy looking guy in his apartment, who I have since learned from a friend of his in his apartment complex -is a drug dealer. He was found unresponsive in his apartment the next day by his other ex wife. He had severe compact syndrome, which happens sometimes in overdoses. The following days he was in critical care with renal failure, and after many surgeries passed away.

His autopsy was completed- and his cause of death is undetermined. All my information is second hand from his parents who are tight- lipped about the entire situation, though I warned them weeks ago of his declining mental state and suicidal thoughts. I am under the impression, from what his sister has shared with me, he sustained trauma injuries that are not conducive with overdose, and falling asleep on his arms. And when he was found, he apparently “looked like he had been in an altercation.” He also had cards missing from his wallet, and jewelry missing. His parents have reported this all to the police. Though they never went out there when he was found or hospitalized. All my information is through his parents or sister, via his other ex wife in California who found him, after several hours of not hearing from him. She too knew he was suicidal, and had also been trying to help him. She was with him
in the hospital and when he passed, otherwise he would have been alone.

A pending death certificate has been issued, while they perform a more in depth autopsy testing . I ordered one online from the county he passed in, it should be here in 6-7 weeks.

All of this is a lot to wrap my head around. And I’m concerned for many reasons….But my primary concern is how I will provide for my son alone. My questions is: will the insurance company accept a preliminary certificate? I was told it may take 6 months to a year for his final cause of death to be determined. If this is a potential murder that requires lengthy investigation , how does the insurance company handle claims?
 
@xuanphung Sorry for your loss.

Only the insurance company can say for sure if they’ll accept a preliminary. Also, see if you can see whats in your policy.

Do you have an agent that can assist?
 
Answering in case someone else is in this situation, and needs clarity- The life insurance company accepted the preliminary certificate after talking to the pathologist who performed the autopsy, and paid out the following day. Total time from filing to receipt of funds was 7 weeks.
 
@xuanphung Other user is right. Only the insurance company will be able to tell you. I will give a warning though, don't let the insurance company take any sort of advantage of you. They may try to say if they don't get the certificate in x amount of time you won't receive the money. That's BS.
 

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