Life Insurance - Beneficiary: Need legal advice

[Chicago21]

What is the name of your state? Illinois
A friend just lost her husband and found out his parents were still listed as beneficiaries on his life insurance policy. The form that listed the parents as beneficiaries is over 20 years old. My friend and her husband were married for 15 years and have two children. Everything else the husband had was co-owned with his wife. We know this was an oversight on his part because there is no way he would have left this form on file for so long, even after his marriage and the birth of his children. It seems the parents are going to give the wife and kids some of the money but I think they are entitled to all of it. Does my friend have any legal recourse? Can she contest the policy? The policy was through her husband's employer.

 

[djohnson]

I'm not familiar with your states laws, however in some states if the spouse is not the beneficiary that spouse has to sign a waiver. They are entitled to it. Maybe someone familiar with your state will jump here now that this has been bumped or you can contact a local attorney. Most first visits would be free and tell you if there was a case or not.

 

[Dandy Don]

Be glad that the parents are going to be ethical and give up some of the money. It was the decedent's fault that he didn't submit a beneficiary change form to the insurance company, although I'm sure it was an honest mistake that many people make. It won't do any good to fight this, since it is the name on the beneficiary designation form that is ironclad, and no law can change the outcome.

 

[CarolinaMelBell]

Don't be so sure

Don't be so sure of dandy don's reply. Below is a short story of what my mother is going thru rite now. The beneficiary is not ironclad as dany don suggests.

This is a case where I had an uncle to die in an accident last year. He had an accidental policy. He had changed his beneficiary form to make my mother and his only grandson, the beneficiaries of this policy instead of his 2 sons for which he had estranged relationships. After his death, the sons immediately began contacting the insurance company to protest payment to the designated beneficiaries. The insurance company filed an interpleader complaint wtih the court and have now released their obligation to decide who to pay the proceeds, leaving it up to the court to make this decision instead. I have researched this and I can't even find anything on this subject. I feel like instead of what my mother is having to be involved in now with the courts, should never have happened. I feel like the named beneficiaries should have been awarded the proceeds and if the sons had a problem with that should have had to sue the beneficiaries individually for the proceeds. I feel the insurance company is responsible for this whole ordeal and since I can't find anything in my research about this, I am beginning to think I am right. Do you have any suggestions or comments?

 

[djohnson]

Dandy Don answered your question and you questioned him but then stated you believed the same thing. I understand your thought process. Anyone can sue for anything now days. They can sue but unless there are some really really hard evidence that something was done incorrectly they aren't going to get anywhere.

 

[ShyCat]

The insurance company followed proper procedures when there's a dispute over beneficiaries. The courts will hear both sides and make a determination. Imagine the other side, if you found yourself without an expected life insurance benefit because someone forged a beneficiary change form or used duress or took advantage of someone's incapacity to push through such a change. You'd be wanting a judge to hear the case rather than an insurance clerk just blindly following a disputed piece of paper, right?

 

[CarolinaMelBell]

I guess I would, but, in my case, knowing that the policy change was not made under those circumstances, it has caused a lot of grief, heartache, time and money, just to receive what was entitled to in the first place. It is like it is up to us to prove that this was not the case instead of the person protesting it having to prove that these things did happen. That gets expensive, an attorney, a writing expert @ $1000.00, just to prove that the protester is wrong, the expenses involved and etc....I may not even end up with any of the proceeds at all even when I win, if it has all been used up by the expenses to prove them wrong in their protest. I may only end up being awarded with the grief and the heartache this whole things has caused.