$25K Childsupport owed, can I collect against beneficiary of Annuity?

[Silverstone]

What is the name of your state? State would be California, but I live in Illinois]

My son's father owes $25k in back child support. He is dieing. In the meantime, he received a HUGH settlement due to an injury on the job, he took this settlement and invested it with Liberty Mutual and they pay him a lifetime annuity with is $197 a week.

He then designated his 2nd son as the beneficiary and left out his 1st son (my son). The thing is, he owes $25k in back child support. This kid is gonna get like $100 k ($197 a week for 10 years) as the beneficiary. Well good for him, but it sure would be nice if my son could at least get the $25k he never paid.

He was a deadbeat dad with my son, never wrote, called, no birthday presents, no cards (always knew where we were at) everything was always for the 2nd son...he hid from the law for years not to pay the child support, never paid any of the medical, daycare, etc., etc. (my son is 23 now) and I think what he did was fraudulent in naming the 2nd son as beneficiary without paying my son what he legally owed him.

Is there a snowball's chance in "hell" that I can contest this when he dies (he's gonna go here in a week or two, he was an acoholic his whole life, but not what you could say incompetent, he KNEW exactly what he was doing when he named his 2nd son beneficiary, basically screwing his 1st son out of rightful claim).

Is this worth pursuing? I think this is a rightful claim, it's not really life insurance, it's proceeds from a workmen's comp. suit that he invested in an annuity...but in any case, I guess it doesn't matter; is this going to be an uphill battle, or would we stand a chance?

What should I expect to pay in attorney fees if we stand a chance?
Thank you!! Help!

 

[Dandy Don]

Don't wait until he dies--go after the money while he is still living.

You have a choice of 1 of 2 options:

(OPTION 1) FILE A CLAIM AGAINST HIS ESTATE AFTER HE DIES. Is it likely that he would have over $25,000 in a bank account or in other assets left in his estate after outstanding debts were paid off?--I don't think so. Do you happen to know how much the total settlement was? I find it hard to believe that he put it all into the annuity--I would suspect that he kept some of it to spend on himself but you would have no way of knowing what other assets he had unless you could pay a private investigator $100-$200 to do a financial background check and also have the PI find out what his checking and savings account balance was.

(OPTION 2) GO TO CHILD SUPPORT COURT AND ENFORCE YOUR CLAIM FOR THIS BACK DUE CHILD SUPPORT NOW!! If you previously used a child support attorney to get your judgment awarded in court, go back to that attorney and hire him to file a claim for the back due amount now. The annuity is an asset that will probably considered as a change in income, and your attorney can probably ask the judge to ask the father to cash in the annuity to get the cash value back, and then father can pay the $25K he owes your child, and then father can use the remaining $75K to set up the annuity for his other child. You will need to talk to your attorney to find out if this is a good strategy to pursue. Talk to more than one attorney so you can get the best fee estimate. If you can't afford an attorney, the local child support office could probably help you with it, but I'm not sure if they are the most responsible and quickest-acting on behalf of their clients, which is why your own attorney would probably be better.

The father, as the annuity account owner, is the only person who decides how the annuity account will be handled while he is living--his executor or administrator will be making decisions about it after he dies. You would NOT be able to file a claim against the other son since the annuity money will probably pass outside of probate since it involves a designated beneficiary.

So, which option do you prefer? You were INCREDIBLY LUCKY to find out about this asset (I'm wondering--exactly how did you find out about it?) and I sure do hope that this has a good outcome for you. Go get the guy and make him face up to his responsibility to his son!!

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])