What is the process and what rights do I have??

[Marie S.]

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

Hello,

First off, thank you beforehand to whoever answers.

Basically I am just trying to get some information on what happens when there are 2 beneficiaries listed on a life insurance policy, here is the jist of the situation:

Father passed about 5 years ago and was named as primary beneficiary (I'm assuming) on mother's term life insurance policy whereas I'm named as secondary or contingent (don't know if that's the right word or not) beneficiary. Mother just passed recently and her will is in probate at this time, with her sister (my aunt) being executrix.

I've already found that if beneficiaries are named on life insurance policies then said policies are exempt from the probate process. This is correct??

The main issue is this, aunt contacted me over a month ago with the news of this policy and said that she would be trying to get it taken care of for me, if she could not then she may need me to meet up with her to do a ' little power of attorney thing' so she could get it going quicker; yes, this is how she worded it lol. That threw up a red flag for me. I had not heard back from her so I called her the other day to basically ask why doesn't she just send the policy to me and I will handle it myself (just one less thing she would have to deal with on top of everything else). She stuttered around and said well you may not be able to have it since your dad was listed as a beneficiary too and his will had my oldest sister as being executrix. Oldest sister was contacted by attorneys for mom's estate and told she needed to sign over dad's will by law. She has since done this, for the simple reason that we all (the kids) just want all of this legal stuff to be over with.

Sorry for the long winded post but I'm at a loss as to what course of action to take. My mother was ill for a lot of years and moved to same area as Aunt so that she could help take care of her, all of us kids have just recently found out that mom left everything to this aunt and nothing to us (which fine, if that's what she wanted). We had to get copies of the will on our own accord and the aunt has not been forthcoming with any information other than to say 'ya'll kids don't worry, once it's all settled you'll be taken care of'. We hope she stands by what she says and what our parents wanted...but who knows.

So, the answer I'm looking for here is do I have a right to confront the aunt and her lawyers (of mom's estate) and demand that they turn over said insurance policy so that I can pursue the next course of action?

Thank you again for your time.

[Dandy Don]

It's confusing when you say someone was asked to "sign over a will". If the will is being probated in court, you can tell by looking at the will whether you are named as a beneficiary in that or not. Yes, insurance proceeds are paid outside of probate.

Did this aunt possibly have power of attorney granted by your mother, for the aunt to be able to handle the mother's finances while she was still alive? The aunt's request to you for a POA from you is truly odd as there would seem to be no justification or reason to do that for YOU. If she did have a POA, it is possible that auntie could have submitted a forged beneficiary designation change to the insurance company, naming HERSELF as the only and primary beneficiary. Or maybe your mother wanted her to be the only beneficiary. If you would have been eligible to receive proceeds from the policy, the insurance company would have contacted you by now. Without making a big deal about it, you need to ask the auntie or the attorneys "since father was named as a beneficiary, do those proceeds go to father's estate or did something else happen instead?" If you are not a beneficiary of the policy you might not have the right to request information about it, but you should (without using a confrontational manner) politely inquire as to the name of the insurance company.

If aunt got power of attorney you need to find out from a family law attorney what the laws are in your state regarding elderly financial abuse and/or abuse of POA. Most states require POA's to provide an accounting of monies withdrawn to prove they spent the money on the other person's care and did not selfishly keep or steal it for themselves. If she won't provide an accounting she might face charges if someone files charges against her.

This aunt seems like a very devious person. You have failed to mention who is named as beneficiaries in your mother's will--is it auntie alone, or auntie plus you and your siblings?

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA (tiekh@yahoo.com)

[anteater]

If you would have been eligible to receive proceeds from the policy, the insurance company would have contacted you by now. Without making a big deal about it, you need to ask the auntie or the attorneys "since father was named as a beneficiary, do those proceeds go to father's estate...

That is nonsense.

So, the answer I'm looking for here is do I have a right to confront the aunt and her lawyers (of mom's estate) and demand that they turn over said insurance policy so that I can pursue the next course of action?

If you know the life insurance company, contact them to request info about the policy and the claim-making process.

If you don't or the company requires presentation of the policy, demand in writing that aunt turn over the policy.

[Marie S.]

Thank you both for your responses.

My siblings and I have been sick over this whole deal. In answer to DandyDon's questions...the situation with dad's will was that it was drawn up back in the 80's when I was still a minor and he put my oldest sister as executrix over his estate and, of course, had everything go to my mom. In talking to my brother and sisters of late there seems to have been another will he drew up not long before he died but, it's nowhere to be found...we don't know all the details about it yet. And yes, my aunt did and does have POA and is executrix of mom's estate. My mom was ill a lot of the time and had medical problems stemming from occasional seizures and falls.

My aunt never offered us kids copies of mom's will after she died nor eluded to the fact that in it she doesn't leave us anything, she left it all to my aunt and my aunt's partner in life (which by the way my mother lists in her will as her sister!). Sis was contacted by the attorneys handling mom's estate that by law it was her duty to sign over that stuff and was also told that it was what my mother had wanted for our aunt to have everything.

You know, my aunt didn't call her to say 'hey, the attorneys are gonna be calling on you soon...' or anything. It just was put to her that way from them..BLAM out of the blue. Sis asked for a copy of mom's to be sent to her, then got a hold of us to let us know what was going on. We've since all agreed just to get things done and over with to trust in the lord and in our aunt (that she will stand by what she has said in the past about us being taken care of fairly)...so sis signed the stuff and mailed it off.

When I called her the other day to inquire about what's going on with it she stated she hadn't even mailed off the death certificate yet (and it's been over a month since she first told me about the policy). That's when I asked her to just mail it to me and I would handle it from my end.

To anteater: I do not know the name of the ins. co., my aunt hasn't offered up that info as of yet and also called me back to state that she would rather me meet her with the attorneys to make sure I can have it, so I am going there tomorrow. I just wanted to have a little peace of mind in knowing that I can tell her to just hand over the policy. Like I said previously, it is a policy my mom had taken out and paid on for years, listing my dad as beneficiary (which he is now passed) and me as beneficiary as well.



Apologies again for the length of the post, but it is really helpful to be getting some feedback and information from people who are more in the know about these types of situations, if you know what I mean. I really appreciate you all's time. I'm hoping this can all just be handled w/o all the lawyer to lawyer business.

[anteater]

my aunt hasn't offered up that info as of yet and also called me back to state that she would rather me meet her with the attorneys to make sure I can have it, so I am going there tomorrow.

If they attempt to BS you regarding the policy, give them the "sweetness and light" treatment until you at least get the name of the life insurance company. Then tell them that the next communication will be from your attorney.

Are you interested in contesting the will? Or are you willing to say the heck with it and leave things as they are even if the will has an odor? Your mother was, of course, free to leave her assets to her sister. But not leaving children something is suspicious.

[efflandt]

Normally a contingent beneficiary gets nothing unless there are no primary beneficiaries. Unless there was mention of your fathers name "per stirpes" (which passes on to decendents if the beneficiary dies) as primary beneficiary, once he passed (before your mom), he is no longer in the picture as a beneficiary. Whether you were an additional primary, or contingent beneficiary, the life insurance for that policy then all goes to you.

If your aunt is asking for power of attorney from you, she may have other motives. She may use that power of attorney to refuse the insurance on your behalf, so it goes to mom's estate, where the will gives everything to her.

So you are wise to be cautious about anything she asks you to do.