Will and Primary Beneficiary

Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 06:08 am Post Subject:

And your point is?

Mark (InsInvestigator) is spot on with his points on wills vs. life insurance beneficiaries. Any of the posts that equate the two or give supremacy to a will over a living life insurance beneficiary are, to be blunt, not worth reading.

Life insurance generally exists outside the realm of probate law, in which wills are firmly entrenched. But a careful reading of most life contracts will reveal much in common with probate law, especially when it comes to succession of beneficiaries and unusual situations such as simultaneous death or common disasters.

When an insured dies, the two remaining parties to the contract are the insurer and the beneficiary. Not the probate court or the wills and trusts lawyer. But policyowners have done many a strange thing when it comes to naming beneficiaries, perhaps at the insistence of an agent with as little understanding of the subject as some of the posters in this thread.

Vague beneficiary statements are the source of much contention over policy proceeds, but, again, it is entirely outside the probate process. Naming "All My Children" is inviting trouble in some of our complex family situations involving kids in the "his, hers, and ours" categories. And what about the heretofore unknown "love child" (a la John Edwards, absent the National Enquirer)?

How can you be certain that life insurance and wills are not on a collision course as some of the previous posts contend? Do a little research on the topic "spendthrift trust" -- where you'll discover that life insurance and retirement plan proceeds have similar and special protections which generally make them "invulnerable" to claims by creditors of the decedent, or those of the beneficiary (at least not before the money is in the hands of the beneficiary). And they are not subject to claims of or against the estate, unless there is no named beneficiary, or, worse yet, a person's beneficiary is named as "My Estate."

Any good book on wills and trusts will point out the significant differences between the two, and show how ownership of life insurance is sometimes placed in a trust, but should never be left in such a way that a will takes precedence (i.e., always having named primary and contingent beneficiary(ies), and regular client contact to make sure nothing has happened to warrant any product or face amount -- or beneficiary -- changes.

Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 02:21 am Post Subject: last wish on your death bed

If you had a young man that knew he was dying but did not take the time to change his beneficaries on his insurance policy but tells his family to give everything to his live in partner on his dying bed should that be honored? The policy's was put in place 10yrs before the death of the person when he first statred his job and he spent the last 4 yrs of his life with his live-in fiancee. There was more than one policy in place, one for his sister's kids because he thought that the mother would be single all her life but she was married for a few years when he died and the other was for his mother. He was helping his fiancee raise her young son since birth and they were living in a house that he had just bought for her. He died and she was left with nothing. Should that have happened or because of the contract they were bound by law to keep the money for themselves?

Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 02:41 am Post Subject:

Families can, and will, do as they please. But life insurance money is payable to a named beneficiary or the policyowner when the insured dies. Since most insureds are the policyowner, when they die without naming a beneficiary, the life insurance money is paid to their estate, where the probate court will (or may) get involved. When that happens, the law will determine where the money goes. Unmarried persons may not have as strong a claim as family members.

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 03:06 am Post Subject: The "Will"

I was named in the will as the exec. Im told to give my brother $100 if he can be found. My mothers insurance has him listed as a beneficiary. The will clearly states she gave me everything & Im in charge. Do I have to give my brother 1/2? I have called him, left messages and no reply. What now?

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 06:07 am Post Subject:

If you know what your brother's mailing address is, as executor and on his behalf, you file the death claim for the policy of which he is beneficiary, and the insurance company will send him the check -- and you've met your responsibility as far as that item goes. Whatever else you need to do as executor, you do, with or without his advice or consent. You should document your attempts to give him notice, such as sending letters via Certified With Return Receipt or Registered Mail, both of which require signatures to deliver, or they will be returned to you marked "undeliverable" or "unclaimed".

Your fiduciary duty as executor is to follow all the instructions presented in the will as best you lawfully can. Are you doing this yourself, or do you have legal counsel?

If you cannot locate your brother at this time, then whatever is supposed to be "his" probably needs to be placed in a trust for him until such time as he appears to claim his "stuff". As executor of your mother's estate, you have the legal standing to proceed in that manner, subject to the approval of the probate court.

If the will says anything about "equal shares" or some other type of distribution arrangement, that's what you have to do.

Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 02:10 pm Post Subject: Will/annuity

Mother passed. She had a Will. My step father have lifetime rights. Then she indicated six children as equal heirs to property equal sharesin fee simple absolute. She Ali stated that " I devise and bequeath all the rest. Residue and remainder of my property of any kind and description and wheresoever found and situate to my children. Now, here's the question. There s several ins annunitity with beneificanary. Who have the right to the ins annuities. All children equal are bene. What is the spouse rights

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 01:53 pm Post Subject:

The annuities are not subject to any provisions of a will. They are in a category called NON-PROBATE ASSETS. The person(s) named as beneficiary of each annuity is the recipient of any remaining proceeds, along with any income tax due on gains. Only when there are no named, surviving beneficiaries will the Probate Court become involved.

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 03:25 pm Post Subject: Disposition of Estate

I herein give, bequeath and devise my entire estate to my three children in equal shares. Each child of mine shall receive a one third share of my estate.

This was stated in the Will. Does that mean all 3 kids are beneficiaries?

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 04:16 pm Post Subject:

Does that mean all 3 kids are beneficiaries?

Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2015 01:00 am Post Subject:

What if a separate contract it's called is implemented into a settlement agreement saying All kids are to remain beneficiareies of the ex-husband to be life insurance policy. Then they remarry and die married does that contract stand?