by Guest » Sat Dec 06, 2008 03:25 pm
My boyfriend's father died in August. His divorce was finalized from his ex-wife in April. Apparently, he never changed her as the beneficiary on his life insurance policy. My boyfriend and the siblings really didn't care, because they didn't have the money to begin with-so what would it matter if they didn't have it now.....however the ex-wife agreed to split the insurance money 5 ways--believing it was only fair and she had a decent relationship with all the kids/grandkids. My boyfriend and his siblings had a letter drafted by their lawyer stating that the ex-wife agrees to split the life insurance money and she signed it. It was sort of her suggestion. After all, their dad divorced her (and on a side note, his reasons for divorcing her had something to do with him pulling his retirement out early upon her suggestion so that she could place some money in an acct that would draw interest and some in the bank acct to pay bills with, only to find out that the money disappeared and she began using his credit card to pay for bills, subsequently causing my boyfriends dad to file for bankruptcy). My boyfriend got a letter in the mail yesterday from his step-mom stating she's going to be keeping all the insurance money basically because she feels entitled to it. She rattled off a list of things she has done that are only simply things a nice person would do without payment. (claims she paid his cell phone bill for a year, a gas bill in 2/08, their joint tax return in 2007, and has been feeding the cats since his death and mailing his mail to my boyfriend's sister. It's so ridiculous....however, my question is this.
Can she get away with this if she signed a notarized document stating she agreed to split the insurance money? After all, they were divorced and it was more than likely an oversight on his part. Also, would something like this be suitable for civil court and how long should it take???
Thanks all.
Can she get away with this if she signed a notarized document stating she agreed to split the insurance money? After all, they were divorced and it was more than likely an oversight on his part. Also, would something like this be suitable for civil court and how long should it take???
Thanks all.
Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 02:43 pm Post Subject:
My oldest sister wants to be reimbursed for the money she used to pay for his funeral expenses from the estate's proceed.
I thought she used the life insurance policy...was it not sufficent to cover the costs? If she had to pay out of pocket for anything, why would you not think this 100% fair that she be reimbursed first?Since there were only a limited amount of space allowed to list the remaining children as beneficiaries, does this mean we are not intitled to the money?
I'm confused, what money? Are you saying now, that there was money left from the life policy AFTER she paid all the expenses?Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 11:48 pm Post Subject:
Saw, Your father didn't name you, so you don't get anything. If you father wanted to name you, he could have done so. He could requested a form with another line or the beneficiary could have been something like, "all children of the insured."
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 11:45 am Post Subject:
He sure could've...all of ours said, "children of this marriage share and share alike"
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 02:22 am Post Subject:
She paid the funeral home with the beneficiary money she received from his life insurance policy. The amount of the insurance proceeds was not enough to cover the our father's burial expenses, I paid the remaining balance of the burial expense. She wants the money she paid for his funeral to be paid from the proceeds fof his estate. She entered into an agreement with the funeral home and paid for his funeral. As I see it, she gets nothing.
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:34 am Post Subject:
As I see it, she gets nothing.
I sure get your point...and frankly agree with you...not sure a judge will though....Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 02:37 am Post Subject:
She paid the funeral home with the beneficiary money she received from his life insurance policy. The amount of the insurance proceeds was not enough to cover the our father's burial expenses, I paid the remaining balance of the burial expense. She wants the money she paid for his funeral to be paid from the proceeds fof his estate. She entered into an agreement with the funeral home and paid for his funeral. As I see it, she gets nothing.
I'm having trouble following this. You said she paid for part of it with the life insurance proceeds, and you picked up the rest. What is there for her to enter an agreement with the funeral home over?
Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 02:56 am Post Subject:
She signed papers required of the funeral home to get paid from the insurance company. The money the funeral home received from the insurance company did not cover the total funeral. To make a long story short, as the administrator, she moved her daughter in our father's house. Under her administration, our father's house was sold for delinquent real estate taxes (18,000). I redeemed the house back. I hope the judge will make an ethical decision in favor of me and my other siblings.
Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 02:49 pm Post Subject:
A beneficiary can do as they please with the money tey receive from an insurance company. It's their money.
If a person pays funeral expenses for a deceased person, even if a parent or relative, they are entitled to be reimbursed by the Probate Court for their expense. If you paid a portion of the funeral costs, you, too, have a claim against the estate.
The redemption of the house is a trickier matter. Is title now vested to you? If so, you may have a claim against the estate for that, which would properly be apportioned to the other beneficiaries of the estate. However, that would probably require sale of the property to another person. Otherwise, you may have to reimburse the other beneficiaries for their share of the value of the property.
This seems to have become very complicated -- couirtesy of Dad who died intestate, and will require a good estate-law-certified attorney to properly represent your interest, and possibly that of one or more of the other beneficiaries.
Get your laywer ASAP! Their fee is determined by the Court in most states. You should have little or no out of pocket expense. Any fee award will be deducted from the estate assets before proceeds are distributed.
Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 01:02 am Post Subject: life insurance
how long till a benificary receives money from a life insurance claim
Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 04:25 am Post Subject:
Once the claim and beneficiary are verified by the insurance company, they usually cut the check within a day or two at the most.
To validate the claim, a certified copy of the death certificate must be sent to the insurance company along with the company's claim form.
Most companies will settle death claims within 5-7 days of receiving the death certificate, if the beneficiary is known and can be located.
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