re: "Estate" Planning: 75 yr old father & his mortgage

You said the house is his only debt, his income is royalties and social security, and he is able to make his payments when due but not a lot of money left over. I also assume he is on medicare.

Make sure, real sure, there is enough money to bury him and pay for final expenses, which include dealing with succession and all those royalties.

If you need some extra cash to make that happen, is lowering the face amount of the policy an option to reduce costs? Is the policy whole or term?

The house... I wouldn't put a cent into it now. If you want to fix it up when he passes to try to sell it for more... great. If not, sell it for what it can go for. If it's at a loss, negotiate it with the bank. Doesn't sound like there are a whole lot other assets the bank could go after the estate for.