Filing rival claim to husbands Life insurance

[the widow]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Washington State

My husband worked for a major corp. He and I married in 89. He retired in 92. As part of the processing of his retirement he had to go through insurances, etc. We had just had a baby so the HR person came to the house with papers. Over the past 17 years our papers were destroyed when water damaged our house. Meanwhile, after nearly 20 years marriage he died in March. The insurance company says I'm not the beneficiary when I remember clearly us making this designation. The company maintained management of benes until 2005. They then turned management of them to Fidelity. In mid 2008 Fidelity then turned just the life insurance over to Metlife to administer. Met claims to have ordered my husbands file from the corp he worked for and finds NOTHING as far as beneficiary updates since 1981. I find it so hard to believe. We married in 89. He retired in 92. I remember sitting with HR and making all the designations with my husband. I believe his exwife whom he was only married to 7 years, who had an affair on him and she divorce him....will bet the money. But Metlife also refuses to tell me who the beneficiary is. I was married nearly 20 years, gave up career to care for him the past 5 years all the while taking some consolation that there would be life insurance to help me get through the rough spot. What can I do?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[las365]

When did he and the first wife get divorced?

[the widow]

I'm so sorry las365

I tried fruitlessly to get back in to reply, but had password problems. This policy was taken out in early 81. He named his son (now deceased) as primary, and the secondary metlife refuses to tell me. I do know he married his previous wife later that same year, yet metlife says the primary (son) and secondary (?) were named at the same time. I cannot imagine her marrying him him 81 and not making certain she was the primary.....but could she be the secondary?

anyway, they married in 81, separated in 86-87 as she had an affair with her boss. She filed and their divorce was final in November of 1988.

we married in July of 89, and have two kids between us, now 17 and 18, but both still in school. To make matters more intense for me emotionally, my husband was ill for 5 years and I left my career to nurse him at home until he passed. And all these years believing (both of us) that I'd have something to carry us through when he passed. I believe that in the transitions of benefit management from the corps local HR dept (later desolved), to the headqtrs across country, then to fidelity in 05, and lastly to life insurance benes turned over to, metlife records were lost. They want me to find my own paperwork to dispute and I can't find them after 17 years, a move to another state, and a verifiable loss to water damage within our house. However, company policy required that these things, all benefit elections all be reviewed upon retirement 92, yet they don't have records? The corporation only has records on the life benefit from 1981? I just can't believe it. I was beneficiary on his savings plan, and on his health insurance. Those were included in the list of "must completes" before processing retirement. So what happened to the Life insurance records? I'm just devastated.

[las365]

I think you need to talk to an attorney. How much is the benefit from the policy?

When did his elder son die?

[the widow]

his son died in 1997.

I am thus far just assuming this "mystery" secondary beneficiary is my husbands ex. She was probably his girlfriend at the time he named beneficiaries. He married her later that same year.

the basic policy is $56K, and the Optional life he elected for is approximately $7K or $8K

[Dandy Don]

If you are absolutely certain that you updated insurance policy beneficiaries and not just pension benefit beneficiaries, then you should be consulting with a business law attorney or civil law attorney to ask him to file an interpleader action with the insurance company where you are in effect protesting the payout and then the insurance company will let the courts decide who gets the money. I would speculate that Fidelity probably messed up in not submitting the beneficiary paperwork to Met Life. Your attorney will probably be able to locate the HR person who helped you update your information and may even probably be able to locate some paperwork somewhere in Fidelity's archives that will help make a strong case in your behalf. Some states give protection to a surviving spouse by making it illegal for an ex-spouse to receive an insurance payout unless the beneficiary designation is reconfirmed with that specific intent, so you need to ask your attorney if your state has such a law.

Fight back, be determined and not discouraged, and I somehow feel that this will have a good outcome for you!

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA (tiekh@yahoo.com)

[the widow]

Well, it is confirmed the husbands ex who divorced him in 1987-88 is challenging me to collect on this. She was not even married to him until later in the year that this designation was made in 1981. That is why she was second in line, not first in line to collect (she was just dating him then).
Here I am, married to him nearly 20 years, KNOWING that we changed this designation in 1992, and having two kids together. One is still minor.

Dandy Don. Thank you for your reply and encouragement. I sure do hope you are right. I hadn't checked back so didn't see your reply til over the weekend. I'll look into getting an interpleader filed. I take it that is not the same as typing and sending the rival claim letter that I already sent? I did not even get an answer from the claims rep when I asked if the disbursement would take place at the same time I am notified (i.e. she gets paid and then Metlife informs me they paid her. Then its too late for a further step). She didn't know how things work after it goes to the disbursement center.

Washington state insurance commission seems to not have answer for me, only stating that I can file a complaint with them. I took care of this man for the last 5 years through an illness, giving up my career, and this is what I get. I know what happened to our copy (destroyed) that would prove my side, but I lose because some big corporations dropped the ball somewhere. They all tell me when they transferred administration of the insurance they didn't keep ANY of the records pertaining to the life insurance.

I'm broke, and I'm desperate, and I feel persecuted.

[anteater]

Dandy Don. Thank you for your reply and encouragement. I sure do hope you are right. I hadn't checked back so didn't see your reply til over the weekend. I'll look into getting an interpleader filed.

You do not file an interpleader. The insurance company does when they have conflicting claims that the insurance company cannot resolve. Essentially, the insurance company tosses the issue to the court to resolve who is the rightful claimant.

While Met Life may decide in your favor, you would do well to begin calling attorneys with experience in probate/estate issues. Many attorneys will give you a brief, free consultation.

While Washington has a statute that would seem to knock the ex out of the box as a legitimate beneficiary, there have been recent Supreme Court rulings that may make that statute not applicable for a benefit covered by ERISA. That is why you want to check with an attorney.

You can read the statute here:

[url]http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.07.010[/url]

The essentials are:

(1) This section applies to all nonprobate assets, wherever situated, held at the time of entry of a decree of dissolution of marriage or state registered domestic partnership or a declaration of invalidity or certification of termination of a state registered domestic partnership.

(2)(a) If a marriage or state registered domestic partnership is dissolved or invalidated, or a state registered domestic partnership terminated, a provision made prior to that event that relates to the payment or transfer at death of the decedent's interest in a nonprobate asset in favor of or granting an interest or power to the decedent's former spouse or state registered domestic partner, is revoked. A provision affected by this section must be interpreted, and the nonprobate asset affected passes, as if the former spouse or former state registered domestic partner, failed to survive the decedent, having died at the time of entry of the decree of dissolution or declaration of invalidity or termination of state registered domestic partnership....


(5) As used in this section, "nonprobate asset" means those rights and interests of a person having beneficial ownership of an asset that pass on the person's death under only the following written instruments or arrangements other than the decedent's will:

(a) A payable-on-death provision of a life insurance policy, employee benefit plan, annuity or similar contract, or individual retirement account, unless provided otherwise by controlling federal law;...

[the widow]

thanks so much for that info, anteater.
We've lived in WA state for over 8 yrs. My husband passed away in WA.

BUT, he made this 1981 designation while living and working in Calif. He married the ex and they were divorced in Calif. We were married and lived in Calif. for nearly 12 years before moving to WA. I wonder if it would be Calif or WA laws that might be most pertinent. Can you (or someone) direct me to how I might find out that info? Thank you in advance.

[the widow]

I'd been receiving conflicting information on what state would have jurisdiction over this case....Calif.? where he worked, and this policy began, where we married, had kids, retired. Or WA? where we have now lived for 8 yrs, where my husband passed away. Or Mich? where GM was headquartered. Or NY? where Fidelity benefits management is. Or PA? where metlife is located. Sheesh! Yesterday I went ahead and filed a formal report with the insurance commision in WA, since it is where I live....and where my husband died.

A lady from the WA office told me WA has community property and probate issues that apply to this. Then someone else from their office, unaware I'd just spoken to another person, said he didn't know anything about that (said he's not an atty), but thinks we'll have to fight this out in court. He thinks it'll go directly to an interpleader and that we'll be spending time in court battling this out.

My sister is related to someone working in a DA office in CA. They told her that in 1990 it became law in CA that if current spouses are NOT primary beneficiary she/he must sign an acknowledgement that they know this. I never signed any such thing, so I wonder if I could counter that unless Metlife can produce some form of proof that I signed off, they'd better get the check to me.


What do you think?

[Dandy Don]

Please also file a claim with the Pennsylvania State Insurance Commissioner because that is where Metlife is currently located.

What is the payout value of your policies? You will need to try to find an attorney in your local area who specializes in "Insurance Bad Faith" (do a GOOGLE search using that phrase simultaneously with the name of your city and another search using that phrase simultaneously with your state to see if any results come up). As soon as you mention the payout value of your policies that is likely to perk up their interest since even if you could not pay a retainer upfront there is still an opportunity for them to be paid when they win your case. Insurance Bad Faith attorneys have experience with interpleaders in particular and know how to counteract the insurance company's dubious reason for denying payout. Your case is a little more involved due to the need for discovery regarding the documents.

You can sit back and wait to see if any company contacts you regarding the interpleader, but if I were you I would be proactive in at least trying to find an insurance bad faith attorney for consultation/advice.


DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA (tiekh@yahoo.com)

[the widow]

There are actually two seperate policies....the basic life (employee group) with a payout of about 57K, and the Optional Life policy worth about 8K. So there is about 65K at stake here.

[anteater]

I have to pass on the question of jurisdiction. But the question may be moot. As I tried to suggest earlier, if this is company-provided life insurance and governed by ERISA, a fairly recent series of U.S. Supreme Court cases has affirmed that ERISA plan regulations preempt state law.

Egelhoff v. Egelhoff was one of the first cases and it happens to concern company-provided life insurance and divorce in the state of Washington. Wikipedia isn't always the most accurate source, but it is concise (and looks to be accurate).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egelhoff_v._Egelhoff

I am trying to point out what you may up against. If you can't find evidence of that beneficiary designation change, you may be between a rock and a hard place. You will need an attorney for this. And, if the attorney has a blank look when you mention Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, then you need to speak to other attorneys.

(If this were an individually-owned policy, then you would be in much better shape.)

[the widow]

I guess what I'm down to here is hoping that either the community property/probate issues mentioned by the commisioners office....OR....looking to pushing the fact that at the time my husbands retirement was processed, Life benefits along with every other benefit were required to be updated in the exit process. Also, in 1990 the law in California where we lived and worked was put in effect (we were married, 1989) that if spouse wasn't beneficiary they had to sign they acknowledged so. I never signed any such paper, so all that really proves is that I did not give approval at the time my husband was required to affirm his selections. And by processing my husbands retirement the company in a sense affirmed he had that paperwork done. Someone it seems failed to properly enter it into the system. Or dropped it from the system in all the change of hands the benefits management went through. Anything could have happened.

[the widow]

This waiting is so hard. The WA state OIC should have all the requested info from Metlife by June 29. I am still nervous about which state(s) truly have jurisdiction over this. So confusing.

Anyway, I am confident it will go to the interpleader stage. But after reading about the interpleader process on the net I read that an interpleader cannot be used if the two disputing parties live in different states. Wow! So what could happen next? I'm wondering, if this goes to court who decides which state hears the case? California......where the ex lives now, the employer made the plan available, where hubby was divorced from her, and two years later married me? Or in WA where we've lived 8 yrs and husband died here? In Michigan where GM headquarters are? Or in PA where Metlife is? Delco left California years ago....