by fresh1207 » Sun May 12, 2013 11:23 am
My father died recently and he had a $25,000 life insurance policy on me with himself as the beneficiary. He has been paying on it for a little over 10 years. Is it possible for me to get the money he paid in over the ten years or is the money he paid is just gone?
Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 11:37 pm Post Subject:
The money doesn't belong to you. The policy is an asset of the estate. Someone will inherit the policy and it is up to them what to do with it. They could keep the policy or cancel it and if there is any cash surrender value, it would belong to them.
Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 02:00 pm Post Subject:
The money doesn't belong to you. The policy is an asset of the estate
That's probably an accurate assessment.
But the contract will detail exactly what happens to the ownership. If the policy was something like Gerber or Mutual of Omaha or Globe Life & Accident "Baby Life" insurance, ownership of the policy usually changes automatically to the child at a set age such as 21 or 25. And if you are already past that age, the ownership could already be in your name (but you probably would have been notified of that, too, along with a requirement to pay premiums to keep the policy in force, perhaps.)
Other forms of life insurance may state that the owner's estate becomes the successor owner, but a few companies, such as Primerica Life Insurance Company, give ownership to the primary insured when the owner dies first. You have to read the contract to know for sure what will happen.
If the policy goes to the estate of the deceased owner, it will be up to the Probate Court to decide the ownership issue. You can petition the court for that right, and the court would probably grant it to you. The fair market value of the policy would most likely be apportioned to you as part of your total estate settlement. The FMV is the cash surrender value.
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