Yes, buy enough life insurance!
Have someone speak to the director of guidance at the 15 year old’s high school.
The odds are, sadly, that this isn’t the first time this has happened to this school. The director of guidance should be able to point them in the correct direction.
Definitely check with the pension fund if mom had a pension. I’m a public employee and we have pretty generous survivor benefits for minor children, which continue through college.
And it’s pretty common for people at the member agencies to be unaware of all the details so I would suggest consulting directly with the pension organization (not just the school) to make sure you understand all the options.
I agree, definitely check with the employer to see if there are any death or survivor’s benefits. The local or state teacher’s union also may have some sort of assistance fund for children of members. My late husband’s employer provided a year’s salary life insurance policy that I had no idea existed (and I work for the same employer, but assumed that the company policy was some tiny amount) in addition to a $5000 death benefit. Getting the death benefit from the employer can be helpful with immediate expenses (particularly if there is no living beneficiary on her life insurance).
Make sure that the Aunt gets multiple copies of the death certificate, many places require an original. I actually had serious problems switching over utilities that happened to have been opened in his name.
The bank will leave the account open for a pretty long time. Credit cards should be kept open until you are sure that you won’t be getting any charges refunded (in my case, it took two different airlines some time to issue refunds on cancelled tickets).
The life insurance may have to go through the estate (don’t worry, it still won’t be taxed). Minors cannot receive life insurance proceeds directly and the mother may not have had time to change her beneficiaries anyway (and probably would not have just listed the oldest).
Also, to correct a bit of accidental misinformation posted above. Social Security will pay through high school graduation even if the child turns 18 sooner; you will have to file a second form before the birthday to confirm that the child is still in school.
Finally, let the school help as much as they can. My son was in the 6th grade when my husband died. They made sure that the parents of his classmates knew and talked to the kids in his grade the morning before his first day back – it made everything so much easier – no one asked painful questions or made him uncomfortable. Also, please let the kids make their own decisions about going back to school. My son didn’t want to stay home – in fact, he didn’t miss a day of school, although he was excused from an oral presentation. He wanted as much to be normal as possible. Other kids need more time. Grief is very individual. Check your local hospice programs, you may be able to find some free grief counseling if cost is a factor.
This may or may not apply. If there is tuition insurance for any of the children, check to see if it covers death of a parent. Some do – and the insurance would kick in to cover the semester.
There is probably a social services department in your community that can provide a social worker to help the guardian navigate the maze of benefits.
Anyone with children should certainly make out a will, and name a guardian if both parents are deceased in a short time period.
As for “stay in college/don’t stay in college” - if the aunt can take care of the younger kids for the time being, and the oldest is coping, she might be better off to go back to college but seek out counseling help and also let the college know of her circumstances.
Staying with her college classmates and on track to graduate with them might be the best help for her available.
(Some colleges will make temporary allowances for tuition payments in such rare circumstances, either on a grant or loan basis. I am not sure if tuition insurance would help as the kind I am familiar with is if a student has to drop out pass the 100% refund date for their own medical reasons.)
Good luck to them, there’s really not much to say other than that.
The aunt still may not be able to perform some of the activities listed here in unless she is also the personal representative for the estate.
Re tuition insurance: I know a family that had a senior girl in a private high school. The father died halfway through the year and the family got a tuition refund. The wife hadn’t even thought about such a thing, and the check arrived because the school was aware of her husband’s passing. I don’t know how common that scenario is – or if there is likely to be coverage at the college level.
The family may only need one original birth certificate – where I’m from, the death certificates are $25 apiece from the dept of health. Many businesses only needed to see the original to make a copy. Also reading about tuition refunds made me remember about auto insurance coverage. If the mom had a car and drove it, may need to switch the coverage to whomever is now driving the car.
So very sorry to read this. No good advice, but sending peace to those kids. It sounds like the aunt may really be able to keep them all together and let the older ones get to college.
UPDATE: The 21 year old had a meeting with a staffperson at her university. Then the University President called her into a meeting and told her that they would make sure she could afford to graduate.
@Charliesch In some states children can be placed with relatives but are still considered “foster” children. If they “age out” of the system they are entitled to attend any state school on a full scholaraship.
Coming to mention (for the second time I see) that if mom was a public employee she likely had a penson. Depending on various factors the monthly payout could be hundreds to a thousand-plus a month. Also many public employees get life insurance through work for a reduced costs…sometimes there is even an automatic one given to all employees even without buying more…I think for me it is $15k. In other words, someone should contact her district and follow up on what might be available.
They should get some legal/financial advice. The under 18 kids may need a conservator (guardian for the money) appointed by the court. Also how the money is distributed may effect the college aged kids.
Hopefully all the utilities etc are on autopay until things get sorted.
Setting aside my sympathetic thoughts on the current situation and focusing on the financial aspects of things, I’m going to state that there are many financial grants for families in need. Many private institutions will cover a significant amount, if not all, of the costs related to tuition and room & board. That said, I suggest they seek out someone extremely familiar with the college entry & financial aid process. This is no time to learn as you go and leave $$ on the table that they could be eligible to cover expenses so please seek out some type of college planner / financial adviser that will volunteer to fill out the forms, etc. I bet there are a few family friends that would assist them through the process. My thoughts and prayers go out to them …
The kids can seek social service benefits such as Food stamps, Medicaid, and cash assistance.
This is so terrible. This poor family.
My thoughts are with you, their aunt, and the kids.
Depending on the HS senior’s stats, it may not be a good idea to start at a community college - if he qualifies for scholarships at a college, he’s better off taking them - if need be, with a leave of absence - than starting at the community college. Transfers get lousy aid and he’d be ineligible for all the potential big scholarships he could get as a freshman. Taking a gap year might be an option too. Do you know his stats?
^ Excellent point. I am betting that the plans for college were understandably not given much time and thought given the loss of the first parent. Transfers’ aid won’t be as good.
On the other hand it depends on the student. If student needs stability, starting at community college and then moving onto a state school would also work.
He’s applying to some other colleges, with community college as a backup.
Has he looked at the full ride scholarship lists for possible colleges?
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/
Also, colleges with good financial aid (though these are mostly highly selective).