Can I do anything about my ex adding a beneficiary to his life insurance policy without my approval?

[Blue788]

What is the name of your state? CA

According to our divorce agreement my ex was supposed to have a $1m life insurance policy with our two kids listed as the beneficiaries. He also wasn’t allowed to change anything in the policy without me agreeing. He just passed away and I found out that he added another child he had to the policy without asking me or getting my approval. I’m just wondering if there is anything I can do to contest this?

 

[adjusterjack]

There might be but it will take filing a lawsuit against the life insurance company to enjoin the company from paying out the death benefit until the court can rule on enforcing the divorce decree.

You will have to act quickly and hire a lawyer first thing Monday. Run a search for "life insurance attorney." Start there and make phone calls.

Life insurance companies generally pay death benefits within 30 days of the death of the insured.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? CA

According to our divorce agreement my ex was supposed to have a $1m life insurance policy with our two kids listed as the beneficiaries. He also wasn’t allowed to change anything in the policy without me agreeing. He just passed away and I found out that he added another child he had to the policy without asking me or getting my approval. I’m just wondering if there is anything I can do to contest this?

I understand that your ex husband was not supposed to make changes to the policy without your permission but - do you know if he adjusted/increased the coverage amount when he added his third child to the policy?

 

[adjusterjack]

Blue788, Quincy brings up a good point. If you have the actual policy or can get it or find out from the insurance company whether the policy contained a guaranteed insurability or guaranteed purchase option that would have allowed him to increase coverage on the same policy. Without them, he would have had to qualify medically for a new policy and it would not have been able to just increase coverage on the existing policy.

 

[quincy]

Blue788, Quincy brings up a good point. If you have the actual policy or can get it or find out from the insurance company whether the policy contained a guaranteed insurability or guaranteed purchase option that would have allowed him to increase coverage on the same policy. Without them, he would have had to qualify medically for a new policy and it would not have been able to just increase coverage on the existing policy.

It would also be important to check the wording of the divorce agreement to see if it says the two children are “sole beneficiaries” or if it just says “beneficiaries.”

 

[Taxing Matters]

The exact language of the divorce decree and the state in which the divorce took place matter a lot and I don't have that information here. If possible, ask the lawyer who represented you in the divorce about this as he/she would know best what kind of result you'd get contesting the insurance policy. Note that it is not the insurance company that would be the target of any lawsuit unless the insurance company was specifically advised of the terms of the decree. It may turn out that you cannot stop the payout of the policy as it is and you (or your kids, if they are 18 years old or older) may be left with just the estate to sue. If the estate is closed and all assets distributed, that would be a problem. See an attorney about this ASAP. There is just not enough information here to know how this would come out if it were litigated. It's important to know what the kids will actually get from the policy, what the terms of the policy are, the exact terms of the divorce decree, and which state's law applies. I obviously don't have all that information and you probably don't want to post all of that on a public internet forum. See the attorney who represented you in the divorce or a lawyer than handles probate matters for advice on this.

 

[zddoodah]

The answer to your question is yes, but you need to act quickly. Consult with a local attorney about filing suit against your ex's estate and the life insurance company.

 

[quincy]

The answer to your question is yes, but you need to act quickly. Consult with a local attorney about filing suit against your ex's estate and the life insurance company.

Too much is unknown to know whether any such challenge has merit. I agree that Blue788 needs to act quickly, however.