Benificiary Question

[Wetzel]

What is the name of your state? Illinois

My mother was raised by her aunt and uncle. We have always known them as grandma and grandpa. They had taken out a life insurance policy on my grandfather and named my mother as the benificiary. My mother passed away 9 years ago. My grandfather just passed away two weeks ago. My grandmother passed away approx. 34 years ago. My grandfather had remarried 23 years ago. My grandfathers wife called me last night requesting my mothers death certificate because she found a life insurance policy that named my mother as the beneficiary. She told me she couldn't understand why grandpa hadn't changed the beneficiary on this policy because he had changed the benificiary on all the other policies. My siblings and I are wondering, is this something that we should be checking into? If our mother is deceased is the money then converted to her heirs or to his present wife?

 

[Dandy Don]

Yes, it is something you should be checking into. Try to find out, if possible, at least the name of the insurance company and the city/state where it is located and the policy number (it would be okay for you to go ahead and provide the wife with the death certificate so she can submit the relevant information to the insurance company, but if I were you I would ask the wife to give you the name and address of the insurance company and the policy number so that you can send them the death certificate yourself--otherwise you would have no way of finding out who the insurance company is).

Grandpa probably did forget to change the beneficiary, or maybe on the other hand he didn't want to change it if in fact he truly loved her enough to want your mother to have the money.

Insurance company is obligated to pay whoever the named beneficiary is, so it is very likely that they will be sending a check to the executor of your mother's estate (if she had a last will and testament), or if she didn't have a will, then you will need to apply to the probate court for the county where she died so that you can be the official executor and get the check issued to you as executor.

Only catch might be if there is some provision in the policy that does not allow the beneficiary's estate to be paid if beneficiary is deceased, but you really need to see what the policy or the insurance company says before you can know for sure whether you will be receiving any money.

Good luck and I do hope it works out in your favor!

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])