Q: A dear friend died unexpectedly Monday. He leaves behind three adult daughters. We do not think he has a will or trust.
He is the guardian to his older developmentally delayed, deaf brother. He recently bought his first home. He does not have a large estate. The corporation we work for will not release information to the daughters as one is listed as an emergency contact but none as dependents. The listed dependent is his wife who died of cancer June 2023. The daughters are beneficiaries for his life insurance through work. How can the daughters get the corporation to release information to them. The corp. is citing HIPAA which is medical not benefits. Please advise. Thank you
A:
I am very sorry for your loss. One of your friend's daughters will likely need to be appointed as his Personal Representative to be able to sell his house. If he had named his daughters as beneficiaries on his life insurance they should contact the insurance company and fill out a claim form along with submitting his Death Certificate.
I'm not sure what information they need the corporation to release to them. Once a Personal Representative is appointed they can contact the corporation and any information should be released at that time.
The daughters need to hire a probate attorney to assist them.
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