Life Insurance on Spouse

Bluebell1414

Having searched for info on this topic, I have not been able to fully find the info I need. So here goes, (this is my first post).

"Can I take out life insurance on my husband, (with his knowledge of course) without it having to be through a trust? HSBC say I must create a trust for the Beneficiary (which would be myself) I would pay the premiums from my Bank Account of course. But they say he owns the Policy
I need some protection, as his Will does not provide for me, his Half Share of Our Home, goes to his children. NB We are tenants in Common, both paid full half share for the house.
My fear? of not being able to sell the house quickly or being harrassed by His two grown up Children. So, I thought the best way around this, take out Insurance for Lump Sum on the life of my husband.
I am retired with small State Pension and small Private Pension (Not enough to get a Mortgage to buy them out) Sorry many questions posed, just trying to give the full scenario. Any comments greatly appreciated..terrible dilemma.....must get it sorted soon. Quite worrying, stepchildren are a concern for me.
Please help

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi there

Have you considered getting your hubby to change his will? He takes out life assurance in his own name, you pay the premiums and the lump sum goes to his kids with the rest of the property going to you.

The kids get their money quickly, you keep your home and everyone is satisfied.

yelf

HSBC clearly have no idea. Yes you can take out a plan on his life with you as the owner - you dont need a trust. A trust would be better to get the money without having to wait for probate, but you can do what you want as you have described it. For them to say he has to be the owner is absurd.

PS: dont take life insurance through HSBC as they are very expensive.

dunstonh

HSBC may only be making recommendations based on the limitations of their own product. One of the risks when you see a tied salesforce. The other risk of using a bank is that they tend to have trainee and low skilled reps. So, that may also explain the incorrect information.

"Life of another" as yelf suggests would be the logical option in this case.

starrystarry

yelf wrote: »

A trust would be better to get the money without having to wait for probate

Bluebell wouldn't have to wait for probate anyway would she? She'd own the policy so it wouldn't be part of her husband's estate. Unless I'm having a Sunday night mental block.

Bluebell1414

Thanks Starrystarryry, My own common sense has been telling me exactly that.
HSBC was my first and only venture into Life Insurance, and I suspected exactly what Dunstonh had to say on the matter. Boy oh boy have I learned a lot about the subject today, after checking out Moneyworld website from the link on this site. Not only are there much cheaper and better cover options than HSBC, but also found they answered my questions in a straightforward way. Thanks to Mike of Moneyworld for that. Getting someone to change their Will as suggested by Oscar, would never be a permanant thing anyway, Wills can be changed anytime without knowledge to any person, least of all, any beneficiary. I prefer to go my own independant way, and have the control over any Insurance plan which I pay into, just as Yelf said in response. This has been a very enlightening experience. So many thanks to all who replied.
HSBC now have some explaining to do, I hate being taken for a fool by any Salesperson.

Oscar_The_Grouch

Bluebell1414 wrote: »

Getting someone to change their Will as suggested by Oscar, would never be a permanant thing anyway, Wills can be changed anytime without knowledge to any person, least of all, any beneficiary.

Good point!!

I forgot to add my usual proviso; I'm not an independent financial advisor, so any suggestions I make are just what I would consider; not financial advice!!