I am going to die within the next 3 to 6 months. I have no problem with dying, but I worry my affairs are in a mess. I have had a Dominican wife for more than five years. I am not a legal resident here in DR, but have lived here for 18 years. My US passport has expired. I have a little more than $100,000 in life-insurance, which is not much if my wife has to pay for a lawyer. I have no family in the United States, so I will be buried here in DR. I have done my research, and it does not seem easy to claim my life insurance from an American company while I am in DR. I even read my next-of-kin may be arrested while police investigate my death, because I am not Dominican. That seems insane. Does anybody here have experience with the collecting of life-insurance from an American company while living in DR . Thank you
My condolences on your illness/diagnosis.
Having advised a US resident in similar circumstances......
1. If you have not done so, and if you are able, please register your presence in the DR with the US Embassy.
2. Redundant and already suggested, please make sure your beneficiary designation(s) are as you want them, AND if it is your Dominican wife who will be beneficiary, PLEASE put her name on the beneficiary designation form exactly as it appears on her Cedula.
3. Have a certified Marriage Certificate In Extensa with an English translation.
4. Due to the high amount of insurance fraud globally.......and especially in third world countries.......please gather any current medical records/diagnosis available to supplement your eventual certificate of death.
5. I am a bit concerned you have no current valid identification, so you might wish if you are physically able, to renew your passport. In the alternative, if you could at least obtain a Dominican drivers license, not sure you can get one without a valid passport/license......and/or the immigration hassles that getting one may entail.
6. Proceeds can be made payable to your beneficiary and wired into their account..........assuming they have one. A wire is the cheapest and most effective way to accomplish this..........but note that not all insurance companies will do wire transfers.....check with your insurer............and while you are doing so, you will want to let them know of your condition, and what, if anything, you can do now, to avoid inevitable delays after your passing.
Respectfully,
Playacaribe2