Thank you Metro for forwarding this unbelievably sad story:
TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) — A 53-year-old wife and mother fatally shot herself shortly after faxing a letter to her mortgage company saying that by the time they foreclosed on her house that day, she would be dead.Police said that Carlene Balderrama used her husband’s high-powered rifle to kill herself Tuesday afternoon, shortly after faxing the letter at 2:30 p.m.
The mortgage company called police, who found Balderrama’s body at 3:30 p.m. The auction was scheduled to start at 5 p.m. and interested buyers arrived at the property in Taunton, about 35 miles south of Boston, while Balderrama’s body was still inside, according to Taunton police chief Raymond O’Berg.
Police did not immediately release the name of the mortgage company. O’Berg said Balderrama’s fax read, in part, "By the time you foreclose on my house I’ll be dead."
O’Berg also said a suicide note found next to Balderrama told her husband, John, and 24-year-old son to "take the (life) insurance money and pay for the house."
The article goes on to say that the mortgage hadn’t been paid for 42 months, and her husband had no idea- she had been shredding all the correspondence from the lender.
We’ve had a long running discussion on Doom about the morality of walking away. If ever there was a time to walk, this was it. I know I’d rather have all my family under a freeway overpass somewhere than lose a loved one trying to save the house. I suspect Mr. Balderrama feels the same.
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Too bad that life insurance doesn’t pay out if death caused by suicide. I suppose she should have read her policy first!
zero,
i think it does pay, just not double indemnity. Could be wrong, I’ve never had a reason to be sure. I read this in the paper this morning and thought it so odd. 42 months to foreclose. That could add up to 50-100k. And the hubby’s response sounded so odd. “I’mm just beside myself”. Where’s that one site that tracks all Greenspans casualties. I suppose this one would be printed in bold. Weird and very sad
Very sad. I’d like to echo your sentiment Twist. Suicide is never the answer to problems.
Insurance most definitely does NOT pay when cause of death is ruled suicide.
You can’t fix stupid.
Igor – fittingly – says “broke”
He didn’t know the mortgage wasn’t being paid???
Suicide might very well be covered in this case. It depends on the policy.
Every life insurance policy my spouse and I’ve had DID cover suicide, but only if the policy’s been in place (paid) for one full year or longer.
Obviously, this was a troubled woman (in a troubled marriage) to begin with. The foreclosure just gave her the push she needed.
zazzu,
agreed. just speculating, but if he didn’t know it wasn’t being paid AND she could keep that hidden for four years then she was getting the mail and paying the bills. my guess is that she was a depressed stay-at-home wife that had some sort of habbit (gambling, drinking or drugs). She obviously needed help that she didn’t get. he is prolly going to find out a few more things about their finances now that she is gone??
igor fittingly says “remorse”
My policy pays for suicide after 1 year (I’ve paid more than 10 into it). 1-2 years is standard in most term policies (not sure if it’s different with whole policies) and can be verified with your insurance agent. Don’t rely solely on the information you receive here.
This story illustrates a sad state of thinking. Stuff is just stuff. It is precious time that’s invaluable. She has truly stolen many years from her family. Very misguided.
formertitleguy -
I just checked on the wall here at Doom North and by the diploma there (FLMI 14 Sept 1982 — Life & Health Insurance Claims; Good Gad is there anything I haven’t failed at?) perhaps I can actually comment on #8.
IIRC you are correct that a one-year suicide exclusion clause is pretty standard. If the existence of the insurance was mentioned in a suicide note things could get complicated. The insurer won’t be thinking just about whether the case is winnable here, for obvious reasons. It probably matters that MA is a Common Law state. That might advantage the survivors. I think AZ is Code Napoleon, which would have been better for the company.
I don’t think we need to worry about this starting a trend. Surely things haven’t gotten that bad.
I need to get me one of these “suicicde” policies. And if I could just find one that paid in Euros I would REALLY be all set…..
Igor says: collude
John-
Makes you kind of glad the trend is walking, doesn’t it?
Is this really the wife?
Or did the husband and wife go out and find a girl who LOOKS like the wife, off her, and plan to pay off the house with the funds, sell it, and meet up in the Bahamas?
Igor says: bizarre (How do you read my mind so, computer?!)
JimAtLaw-
We never really quite figured out how it happened. Our admin was tinkering around in the dungeon tweaking what should have been an ordinary spam filter when Igor was born.
He’s paranoid, somewhat capricious and seems to have a rather dry sense of humor. [Rather like our admin, in fact-- but don't tell her I said that!] : )
No Igor, he is not “worse”.
This editorial from the local paper in Quincy MA was a response to the tragedy.
“Mortgage crisis isn’t over, but don’t panic”, Patriot Ledger, July 25, 2008.