Union head Matt McCarten wants to sell his life insurance policy to help pay $153,000 in unpaid taxes and bills, saying he does not want to "die with debt".
Mr McCarten has terminal cancer. His company, Unite Support Services, was put into liquidation last year with unpaid bills totalling $152,801 to creditors, including at least $100,000 to Inland Revenue.
Mr McCarten said his insurance policy was worth about $230,000 and he had learned only recently that it could be sold off for somebody else to collect on after he died - giving him money in the hand.
"I didn't know people did that. So I said I must be a prime candidate."
The National Business Review reported yesterday that Mr McCarten was considering selling his life insurance policy. The paper learned of its existence in the most recent insolvency report.
Mr McCarten said he was doing other work to pay off the debt, but it would take time.
Last September, he was told the cancer had spread to his liver and he had a 0.8 per cent chance of survival.
He was given between six weeks and six months to live.
"So if someone wants to buy my life insurance, great. It's a good investment because my percentages aren't great. And I don't want to die with debt, and certainly not to the taxpayer."
Whilst it's sad that Matt McCarten's cancer has progressed, this seems on the face of it to be a pretty macabre way of sorting out his finances, and celaring his debt to the IRD. He himself describes it as "black humour", and that's a pretty good description.
But as we said in our opening, we're not quite sure what we think about this; what say you?
5 comments:
Selling life insurance policies is nothing new. You can also borrow against them.
My prayers are with Matt and his family and if i could say one thing to him it would be - It's only money buddy. Who cares?
Can't we just get Winston to bite him and turn him into a zombie - then he'll no longer need the life insurance.
Is there usually a zombie clause in policies?
He never should have ended up in the pickle he has. His attacks on the "rich" and comments about how the poor and down trodden pay for the rich, showed what a hypocrite he is. Having said that, it's good that he's doing this.
Brian.
"It's only money buddy. Who cares?"
No...it's somebody ELSE'S money and they care.
First port of call should be his bank - lending money is what they do.
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