TNCPUPZlazy
Member
What is the name of your state?Montana
I have a complicated problem with my mother’s annuity. An error made by an agent has left her children/estate unable to claim their portion of the money. My mother always referred to it as my grandmother’s annuity and later the “trust” or “contract”, so I didn’t know the whole story until we tried to claim our portion. The players are A= my mother the annuitant, B=her brother, C=my cousin, D=my dad, E=me and my siblings (the estate), F=the selling agent (a close family friend and former pastor) and G=my grandmother.
In 1995 G returned to Montana after my grandfather passed. In 1996 she purchased and was owner of an annuity (on A’s life) from F to avoid an estate. F’s first mistake is obvious on it, he listed A as a beneficiary on her own life. The other beneficiary was B. G withdrew money as needed and passed in 2001, leaving A as the sole owner. In 2006, A told me (by phone, I live in another state) she asked F if he could set it up similar to a trust that D had (for B and her). D’s trust was split 50/50 with my aunt and had separate beneficiaries. A and B also requested that B’s portion go directly to C to bypass his estate and her mother (G’s wish was for any unused portion to go to all the grandchildren and none was to go to C’s mother). F said he thought he could, so he rolled it over in to a new one. There is no reason why the older policy couldn’t have been assigned new owners and beneficiaries. The difference appears to be that the current one can be a joint annuity, but B was not a joint annuitant, just a joint owner. F typed over the contingent beneficiary line – “Primary beneficiary of B, C daughter of B”. It makes no sense unless she was supposed to get B’s half upon his death. A chose D as her primary (it was her default on everything). F tried to write up the policy in a way it wasn’t designed to do. Someone at the brokerage caught it and sent a “clarification” memo that A and F signed. It said “Friends, please verify that the following is true. The beneficiaries are D, husband of A and C, daughter of B. 50/50.” The other mistake F made was in allowing A to list D as her primary beneficiary. In 2006 (as well as 1996) we knew that D would predecease her. He survived a massive stroke in 1991 and had continual, serious complications. F knew this. He had an ethical and fiduciary responsibility to point out the clause that states beneficiary status does not pass to the estate upon the death of a beneficiary, but to the other beneficiaries. If he knew about the clause and knew that the policy wasn’t split, he should have advised her to put E as her beneficiary. Because he was perhaps well meaning but not knowledgeable about the product, we are unable to claim our share of our own mother’s insurance. I’m sure if F knew what was happening, he would be heartsick. He moved out of state a short time after that, and passed away in 2015. D passed in 2011. B was diagnosed with cancer in 2010. In 2012 and 2013 A went out of state to care for B and they started pulling money out for him. She told me each time she did this, and also when she pulled money out for herself. When B passed in 2016, A told me she requested forms to claim C’s share for her. A was diagnosed with cancer a few months later and the subject of C’s share never came up again and I never found the original policy until after she passed in May, 2019. I was counting on the money to pay her bills, taxes, and save the house.
C has complications of her own. For numerous reasons she cannot have a lot of money in her possession. She wants to be fair, but she cannot claim the money and give part of it away. She cannot claim all of the money, and she cannot formally decline it. At this point it’s best that she just ignore it.
I have tried to contact the brokerage that F sold it through. They won’t return emails, and the operator told me they only provide training to the agents about the products and they don’t talk to clients. I hold F and the brokerage firm primarily responsible. They didn’t train and advise him and they knew something was off about the contract, but didn’t provide proper follow up. Other than file complaints, write bad reviews, and be a pain to them, is there anything that can be done? Who is held accountable in a case like this?
Thanks for your help.
I have a complicated problem with my mother’s annuity. An error made by an agent has left her children/estate unable to claim their portion of the money. My mother always referred to it as my grandmother’s annuity and later the “trust” or “contract”, so I didn’t know the whole story until we tried to claim our portion. The players are A= my mother the annuitant, B=her brother, C=my cousin, D=my dad, E=me and my siblings (the estate), F=the selling agent (a close family friend and former pastor) and G=my grandmother.
In 1995 G returned to Montana after my grandfather passed. In 1996 she purchased and was owner of an annuity (on A’s life) from F to avoid an estate. F’s first mistake is obvious on it, he listed A as a beneficiary on her own life. The other beneficiary was B. G withdrew money as needed and passed in 2001, leaving A as the sole owner. In 2006, A told me (by phone, I live in another state) she asked F if he could set it up similar to a trust that D had (for B and her). D’s trust was split 50/50 with my aunt and had separate beneficiaries. A and B also requested that B’s portion go directly to C to bypass his estate and her mother (G’s wish was for any unused portion to go to all the grandchildren and none was to go to C’s mother). F said he thought he could, so he rolled it over in to a new one. There is no reason why the older policy couldn’t have been assigned new owners and beneficiaries. The difference appears to be that the current one can be a joint annuity, but B was not a joint annuitant, just a joint owner. F typed over the contingent beneficiary line – “Primary beneficiary of B, C daughter of B”. It makes no sense unless she was supposed to get B’s half upon his death. A chose D as her primary (it was her default on everything). F tried to write up the policy in a way it wasn’t designed to do. Someone at the brokerage caught it and sent a “clarification” memo that A and F signed. It said “Friends, please verify that the following is true. The beneficiaries are D, husband of A and C, daughter of B. 50/50.” The other mistake F made was in allowing A to list D as her primary beneficiary. In 2006 (as well as 1996) we knew that D would predecease her. He survived a massive stroke in 1991 and had continual, serious complications. F knew this. He had an ethical and fiduciary responsibility to point out the clause that states beneficiary status does not pass to the estate upon the death of a beneficiary, but to the other beneficiaries. If he knew about the clause and knew that the policy wasn’t split, he should have advised her to put E as her beneficiary. Because he was perhaps well meaning but not knowledgeable about the product, we are unable to claim our share of our own mother’s insurance. I’m sure if F knew what was happening, he would be heartsick. He moved out of state a short time after that, and passed away in 2015. D passed in 2011. B was diagnosed with cancer in 2010. In 2012 and 2013 A went out of state to care for B and they started pulling money out for him. She told me each time she did this, and also when she pulled money out for herself. When B passed in 2016, A told me she requested forms to claim C’s share for her. A was diagnosed with cancer a few months later and the subject of C’s share never came up again and I never found the original policy until after she passed in May, 2019. I was counting on the money to pay her bills, taxes, and save the house.
C has complications of her own. For numerous reasons she cannot have a lot of money in her possession. She wants to be fair, but she cannot claim the money and give part of it away. She cannot claim all of the money, and she cannot formally decline it. At this point it’s best that she just ignore it.
I have tried to contact the brokerage that F sold it through. They won’t return emails, and the operator told me they only provide training to the agents about the products and they don’t talk to clients. I hold F and the brokerage firm primarily responsible. They didn’t train and advise him and they knew something was off about the contract, but didn’t provide proper follow up. Other than file complaints, write bad reviews, and be a pain to them, is there anything that can be done? Who is held accountable in a case like this?
Thanks for your help.
