Annuity beneficiary conflict

[biowf]

What is the name of your state? California

History: I am the trustee and executor for my grandfather who passed away last year. He had a wife who passed away a few years before at which point he changed both the will and trust to essentially remove his stepson from the estate. Because I felt this stepson did have some claim on the estate I agreed to give him a large sum for himself and his son.
When I went to claim an annuity the company said the stepson was the benificiary. Upon questioning them they finaly produced three documents where my grandfather had attemted to change to benificiary from the stepson the the trust. Because he kept signing the wrong line or used his name with 'trustee' they declined his attempts (about 1-2 years before his death). The signitures were noterized and the will and trust are very clear in intent. I feel he believed he had accomplished the change of benificiary (he really disliked the stepson and reminded me often).

Now for the question: Where do I stand in my claim on this annuity. I have a laywer but want outside info so I can make a decent decision about going to court or not. Thanks in advanceWhat is the name of your state?

 

[moburkes]

Because I felt this stepson did have some claim on the estate I agreed to give him a large sum for himself and his son.

You want to change the will?

Notarizing the signatures doesn't notarize the capacity of the signer, only that it was signed in the notary's presence. That doesn't mean that the documents are valid in court.

I feel he believed he had accomplished the change of benificiary (he really disliked the stepson and reminded me often).

This isn't a judgment call that YOU can make.

Which is it? He disliked the step son so much that he didn't want to give him anything, or YOU get to decide what the step son gets?

Intent doesn't matter. If he didn't sign the documents properly, then the beneficiary wasn't change.

So, give the stepson what you decided that he was owed, and let him collect from the policy, too.

Easy.

 

[tranquility]

The annuity contract is problematical. I don't know the answer and I bet your attorney will need to spend some time in research before advising you.

The reason I write, however:

Because I felt this stepson did have some claim on the estate I agreed to give him a large sum for himself and his son.

What did you base this decision on? Was it approved by the court? If not, you may have breached your fiduciary duty. If you didn't talk to your attorney about this yet, you better meet with him now.

 

[Betty]

You seem to be making/wanting to make a lot of decisions yourself. You have to follow the will & also if step-son was never officially changed as bene on annuity, then bene wasn't changed. You need to review everything with your attorney.

 

[biowf]

The money given to the stepson was through an agreement between us and our lawyers, ultimately to avoid court. Everything I have done has been done through my lawyer. I do not consider myself a greedy person and am not out to 'get' anybody or every last cent. While that may be hard to comprehend in the world of lawyers it is how I am. I gave him more than what the annuity is worth. I have even offered to split the annuity with him. So far he has declined. I am not asking you to tell me I am an idiot. I just wanted some information. Thanks agian, Biowf

 

[biowf]

I should add the reason I am asking is my lawyer is pushing to take this to court because he thinks he can win with what we have. But, like the responces I am getting here I am not so sure. Thanks,

 

[Dandy Don]

Is there specific language in the trust and in the will that specifically mentions his reason for disinheriting the stepson? If so, then it was a mistake on your part to pay the stepson anything although it is understandable why you did it.

Is your grandfather listed in the trust document as official or primary trustee?

Do you know whether your grandfather submitted a copy of the trust when he submitted the beneficiary designation change?

Did the annuity company give a specific reason in writing why they did not accept his form?

Your grandfather had the authority to make this change and if the insurance company can not give a good reason why they did not accept it, then you have a good chance of winnning your case, but as of yet you have not mentioned exactly what is SPECIFICALLY wrong with the form that he signed.

What is the annuity worth and how much has the stepson been paid?

In order to keep this out of court and paying expensive attorney fees, you may want to file a complaint about this with your state commissioner of insurance (probably has a website if you do a GOOGLE search) where you can file a complaint to have this investigated and at least you will find out what the insurance company's argument is and then you will know more definitively whether you have grounds to proceed with a lawsuit if it is NOT resolved in your favor, although it certainly could be resolved in your favor if the facts warrant.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[Dandy Don]

Look at the documents that the insurance company gave you to see if perhaps there were special instructions required and to see whether it is possible that he may not have followed one or more of the special instructions involved withsubmitting the form.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])