Contesting life insurance beneficiary: Can it be done?

Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 01:16 am Post Subject:

No. Life insurance is a nonprobate asset in all states.

Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 08:26 am Post Subject: What's the procedure and does she have a case?

My father had a life insurance policy through his work. Also a large 401 k and a pension. BTW this is in NJ. Anyway he always had my brother and I as 50 percent beneficiary and his new wife the other 50. Not new almost 20 years. They separated and she filed for divorce. He got sick and found out she was getting his pension and 401k so he changed us as his beneficiary 100 percent. A couple weeks later he passed. She is contesting it because she is greedy but also because she says he should not have changed it once she filed. They never even made it to where they had to show their assets. I don't think he paid anything for the policy so it's not as though it was a shared bill. I have done alot of research but I can't find case law online. Only general issues. Does she have a case? She does have one underage daughter that is 17 but my dad obviously felt he was already leaving her enough to raise her to adulthood. What is the procedure and will it make it to court if he didn't break any laws? We are not settling and we don't want to get a lawyer just yet because they want over a hundred grand one third. I just don't see why she should get everything and we get nothing when we are his kids. We even paid for his service cuz she refused, yet she wants everything. Please just give me some insight into what you think. Thank you

Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 09:00 am Post Subject: One more thing

I forgot to ask about his ashes. We had to have a service without them because the funeral director said she got them by law since they were not divorced. Do we even have a right to half of his ashes? Or are you strickly familiar with insurance and can't answer that question? This is just one big mess.

Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 09:00 am Post Subject: One more thing

I forgot to ask about his ashes. We had to have a service without them because the funeral director said she got them by law since they were not divorced. Do we even have a right to half of his ashes? Or are you strickly familiar with insurance and can't answer that question? This is just one big mess.

Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 04:02 pm Post Subject:

Half of his ashes? Talk to an attorney about that, because it has nothing to do with insurance.

As for insurance, many states have family law statutes that prohibit altering the character of certain assets, such as life insurance and their beneficiaries, once a divorce action is filed, for precisely the reason you post.

While an insurance company may pay the proceeds to the named beneficiary, when it receives a contested claim, it usually lets the court decide the outcome rather than being exposed to having to pay the claim twice because it paid it to the wrong person the first time.

This is known as an interpleader action, and will take place in federal court, which means having to hire an attorney for representation. Everyone but the attorneys will give up something of value.

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:46 am Post Subject: GAoEbBiTwNVaVkQ

Heck of a job there, it abseultoly helps me out.

Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 10:02 pm Post Subject: Suspect Fraud in Beneficiary Change Form

My father passed away from Alzheimer's in Dec. 2014. He was ill for many years. In early 2013, his life insurance policy became lapsed due to a non-payment and cancelled in March 2013. My father's policy was a group policy and my late Mother was the beneficiary, along with the contingent beneficiaries being me and my 2 sisters. My sister began taking over my Father's financial obligations 3 years before his passing. My sister did not have a Power of Attorney and signed my Fathers name on all checks, made withdrawals from banking institutions including his retirement fund. She maxed out ever credit card my Father had. She did get a Power of Attorney one month before he passed away.

After his death, my sister informed me that my father had made her the sole beneficiary on his life insurance policy, but it had lapsed. I was caught off guard by this information because I knew he had always wanted his proceeds to go to his 3 daughters. However, being that she and her family took care of him in his home during the last year he was alive, I didn't question anything.

I decided to fight for his policy for my sister. I contacted an attorney to help her appeal the cancelled policy. We won. A few weeks later, the attorney says that he received a check, but only received 1/3 of the proceeds from the Insurance company. He was livid. He wanted to know who all the beneficiaries were. I thought it was my sister. Apparently, the insurance company recognized 3 sisters and paid out the funds.

My sister was very upset, she disclosed on FB a copy of the Change of Beneficiary Form that was submitted to the insurance company. My father did not fill out that form, it was filled out by my aunt and the signature was not legible to be my fathers. He was unable to write and was in a very confused state at that time - thus, my sister taking over his financial responsibilities.

Her attorney re-submitted the Change Form to the insurance company and now they paid my sister the full amount of the claim and want us to pay our distribution back because of an error.

I feel my sister forged this document and has a history of fraud. She is a convicted felon and stole my sisters identity before in which she did go to jail for.

Can you help guide me on what I need to do? Not sure of what type of attorney I need to retain??

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 07:36 am Post Subject:

You have a attorney. Ask him. Or ask a malpractice attorney.

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 05:07 pm Post Subject:

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 08:18 pm Post Subject:

I had an issue with my husband's life insurance company not paying me after he died. I used Boonswang Law and they were awesome. Helped me out a ton.