Synopsis for
Ghost Dad (1990)

Elliot Hopper (Bill Cosby) is a recently widowed father of three who has nearly bankrupted the family in attempts to save his lingering wife. Elliot is working on a business deal to get the family out of debt when he climbs into the taxicab of a maniacal Satanist.

In an attempt to end the ensuing mania, Elliot proclaims that he is in fact Satan and orders the driver to stop the cab immediately. Overwrought with the confrontation, the driver releases the steering wheel. The taxi slams into the barrier of a bridge and teeters over a river. As Elliot frantically tries to exit, the vehicle topples into the river, an incident which appears to kill both occupants.

Rather than awakening to a day of reckoning, Elliot finds himself floating around the lab of a scientist studying the paranormal who agrees to "send [him] back".

Elliot, who had neglected to get life insurance before his accident, fears that his children will grow up impoverished without him. As a floating spirit that can only be seen in darkened rooms, Elliot returns to his house and concocts a scheme to somehow finish his business deal and be approved for health coverage before his body is discovered and news of his death is made public. His children are in on the plan and try their best to keep their father's secret.