Life Insurance beneifits from my fatther who was killed in a trucking accident

[Bobbyp0721]

What is the name of your state? What is the name of your state? Texas
When I was 13 my father was killed on the job in a trucking accident. The company he worked for was based out of New Jersey but he was a legal resident of Texas. When he died there was life insurance policy thru his job that was paid out and put into an annuity to be paid out to me and my 2 younger brothers. The amount of $882 was paid to my mom (since we were minors)each month and stayed the same even after my middle brother and I both turned 18. Now that my youngest brother is 18 he alone is going to be getting the $882 per month until the year 2010. This doesnt seem right or fair to me. My main 3 questions are:
1) If we were all 3 listed as beneficiaries why would my youngest brother be the only one elegible for money after he turned 18
2) If I have been elegible all this time for 1/3 of $882. per month why did they keep sending my mom the full amount and not just send me my portion? Was it up to my mom to split it between the 3 of us?
3)If for some reason my middle brother and I were only allowed money until we were 18 and the rest is for my youngest brother is there any way to dispute that?
The annuity is thru GE Capotol Assurance Co and I am having a hard time getting any info from them. Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

[hexeliebe]

I would be sitting mommy dearest down for a 'come to jesus' meeting. She knows where the money went.

 

[Dandy Don]

So sorry about this situation that appears to be unfair.

(1) The annuity could have been set up that way according to your father's special instructions, although it does seem a bit odd that it would be done that way. It's too bad that the company is not honest with you in providing information--it's the least they could do and you are entitled to that information as a beneficiary, at least a basic explanation of what is going on.

(2) It is possible that the money was supposed to be split up 3 ways but the insurance company figured it was okay to send the children's portion to the parent because the parent would use this money for your support (and this is probably what your mother did--hasn't she been paying for your food and rent and clothing, etc.)? It's also possible that a separate check should have been sent to 3 different beneficiaries and that possibly your mother should have been setting aside your money in a bank account, but we don't know the answer to this question for sure because you would need to look at the annuity papers (that they provided to your father) to see what the language says.

(3) There will be no way to dispute how the money is set up.

Ask your mother about why the annuity was set up that way (to benefit the youngest brother now) just to see what she says, but be nice about it, since she probably did spend the money on you, and that probably is how your father wanted it--he may have thought that you other brothers would be all right after you reached the age of adulthood (how old are YOU now?) and would have good jobs and would be able to support yourselves, while the minor still might need assistance with living expenses or whatever until he reached adulthood.

If you know the city where your father died (did he leave a will or not), then contact the county courthouse probate court to look at his probate file (that will contain his last will and testament and other information on how his estate was handled). See if the annuity paperwork is in there, or at least get the name and address of the estate executor. The annuity company will probably only release information to the executor, so you could ask the executor to contact the annuity company to ask for a copy of the annuity paperwork and to get your questions answered about why it was set up that way and whether it was your father who set it up that way or if that is just the rules according to how the insurance company set up the annuity.

You deserve a better explanation from the insurance/annuity company, but it may be hard to get them to cooperate.

SINCERELY,

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[Dandy Don]

If you are eventually able to get a copy of the annuity paperwork, if there are guidelines or specific instructions in there about giving the entire amount to your younger brother at a specific time, then there is not much you can do to change that. But if there is nothing written in the annuity paperwork to authorize that specific payment to your brother and if they just did it arbitrarily or off the top of their head or at your mother's instruction with nothing in writing, then you can challenge it and make a specific complaint with the annuity company or with your state insurance commissioner to have this investigated.