Murder of the insured by the beneficiary...

[richardshane]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TEXAS

I'm not quite sure what state if any this policy would fall under ??
My brother worked for an international Oil drilling company which is located in Texas, he had 2 life insurance(UNUM) policies as well as AD&D (UNUM)coverage provided by the company (company pays half he paid half) and another AD&D(CIGNA) policy which was optional which he paid the full amount. My brother worked a 5 weeks in Nigeria and 5 weeks off on a regular schedule until he broke his leg badly on his time off in August of 2007 and had to go on STD paid bu the company. During this time his wife arranged his murder and my brother was subsequently murdered on Feb 03, 2008 while still on STD. His wife was suspected of arranging his murder almost immediatley and was charged for arranging his murder along with her boyfreind and the hitman, the trial for them was held the end of July 2009 with the verdict being read on August 27, 2009. All accused were found guilty as they had all signed statements admitting their guilt as well as video of my brothers wife admitting guilt, they never had much defense other than saying they were coerced and each said they signed blank documents. They were all sentenced to death but the judge reduced their sentence to life imprisonment due to their admissions of guilt and helping the police. Now here we go....the policies all added up total about one million US. On all the policies his wife is listed as the beneficiary with me being the contingent on all....I filed a claim on all policies after the guilty verdict as no-one would tell me if I was listed as contingent...the one lady at CIGNA actually sent me an e-mail stating neither you or your sister are listed as beneficiaries....anyways I found out during the trial as the CIGNA policy was part of the evidence and it was read in court.Also I need to add he was paying on all his policies up until the time of his death as they were automatically taken off his cheques by his employer. I recieved a denial of my claim from UNUM at the end of October where they stated that since he wasn't working a full shift he was no longer covered since September 18, 2007....it did say that in the manual but further down it stated the coverage ended unless the employee was sick or injured which in fact my brother was....I've filed an appeal to UNUM and am awaiting a reply. CIGNA told me via e-mail that this is a valid claim and they were at first awaiting the results of the trial after the trial they said that she, the guilty party, had exercised her right to appeal her sentence and I would have to wait until this was finished...I thought this was quite unfair but I still thought they had to answer to my claim in writing so I waited the full 90 days but heard nothing... On Dec 09 2009I e-mailed the lady back and was told they were waiting for and update from the guilty parties lawyer and had not received one yet....I told her I thought that they would be required to answer to my claim in writing at least but have gotten nothing...I also stated that this is quite unfair that even though the guilty party was found guilty they could still keep the contingent party at bay for many years as Thai courts could take up to 10 years when dealing with appeals. I told her that whilst interpleading US courts have found this practice unfair and have awarded the contingent the proceeds of the policies. I also mentioned interpleading the funds as an option and she agreed saying she would contact the home office and inform them of this matter...That was Dec. 09, 2009 and I have not heard a thing back as of yet...what jurisdiction would this fall under ?? The policy was written in Texas...in the manual it says if you have any problems contact the Texas law blah blah...I am Canadian as was my brother she is Thai.....this whole thing is confusing but I know I need to find a lawyer but who and WHERE ??? If anyone has any knowledge on these issues could help I would greatly appreciate it...I am currently in Thailand dealing with his estate which I was made executor but she kept everything and sold it....she cleaned out his bank account also...Thai courts are difficult to say the least and being a foreigner here against a thai is going against the grain here...I was lucky I got a gulty verdict and believe it was only because I kept pressure on the courts....corruption is a way of life here and the guilty party had mafia hands waiting for a piece of the cake...lucky for the international pressure....what and who can help ??

 

[Dandy Don]

You need a Canadian attorney or an American attorney (from any state) who has experience with interpleader cases and would be available to travel back and forth to Thailand to defend you. Have you first considered consulting with a Thai attorney about this situation?

 

[richardshane]

Why Thailand ?

I've dealt with many lawyers in Thailand and to be quite honest I've yet to meet one that was not corrupt...Why would this case be decided in Thailand ? The manual I have says in the begining if you have a dispute about premium or claim to contact "texas department of insurance". To trust a country such as Thailand to decide a case such as this seems crazy as it is so full of corruption within all aspects of government and police. Thai courts would never recognize a Canadian or American Lawyer. I doubt they even have interplead cases there. Also if the policy was written in Thailand they would only be required to reimburse the amount paid into the policy otherwise any husband with a life insurance policy would be a target. A life is not worth a lot in Thailand. Is there not a "slayers act" which could be used ??

 

[HappyWanderer]

I'm not going to read it as I don't care. But, from the headline, this is the basis for equity in common law. Don't look for the law, but for what's fair.

That's the argument.

 

[Dandy Don]

What country was he murdered in? What manual are you talking about? You probably need to make sure she is convicted/found guilty (in whatever country her trial is being held in) before you will be able to make a successful interpleader case. Has she even been charged with anything yet? Find an attorney to help you with the interpleader case first (so you can prevent her from getting paid) and then deal with the other consequences later. Have your attorney at least put the insurance company on notice, since it seems like they are paying no attention to you.

 

[richardshane]

She was found guilty of being an accesory to hi murder ie. causing it. Therefore on August 27, 2009 she was sentenced to death along with the other two guilty parties but that sentence was commuted to life due to her confessions after the fact. She is currently in a maximum security prison in Thailand... The insurance policy was written in Texas as that is where the home office of his employer is located.

 

[Dandy Don]

Get an attorney to represent you and HE/SHE can find out whether Thailand has a slayer act (or whatever country's law might be applicable--kind of hard to figure out right now which law would be applicable since there are so many countries mentioned--Nigeria, US, Thailand). Your attorney needs to get started on this so that the insurance company won't needlessly continue to stall/delay making the payout. Whether they have a slayer act could be important or it may be immaterial if the insurance company has a policy in place where they do not payout if a victim is murdered, and you or your attorney needs to examine the actual language of the specific insurance policy that was purchased, IF you were given one or if one is available. Your attorney will know what to do and how to get it. You need an attorney who has experience with interpleader cases and sometimes this legal specialty is called "bad faith insurance".

 

[richardshane]

The insurance company has already admitted that this is a payable policy they said that since she has appealed her case they cannot pay me the contingent beneficiary. What would be ideal is if this could be dealt with in U.S courts as Thailand has so much corruption and there government is always in turmoil I don't believe I could get fair representation.

 

[Dandy Don]

If there is a case, it will be held in US courts, as that is where your attorney will ask for the interpleader case to be heard. The case is yours to win, but you unfortunately have to wait until the appeal is finished. It is not very likely that her conviction will be reversed and hopefully the outcome will be that the conviction will stand and she will be forever denied the opportunity to benefit from her crime.

 

[richardshane]

I've read different cases in which the beneficiary has been convicted of the murder and although the case was still under appeal the benefits were given to the contingent as a result of interpleading the case. It was found in the courts that since the beneficiary was found guilty in the first instance there must be substantial evidence proving guilt. The guilty party could keep the appeal within the courts for many years resulting in the contingent beneficiary unfairly delayed in receiving the benefit. Could this not be argued during an interpleader in this case ? The guilty party made written confessions to the Thai police as well as recorded confessions which essentially proved her guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Her sentence was reduced from the death penalty to life imprisonment because of her initial cooperation with the police. In Thailand she could keep this case within the court system for ten years. I just don't want to find a lawyer to help as most work on Contingency basis which is 33% not including expenses...to find out I must wait till appeals are exhausted. 500,000 could turn into nothing for me over that period of time. Thanks in advance for any of your thoughts...

 

[Dandy Don]

The case is NOT going to be heard in the Thailand court system--it will be done in the US, and can she afford attorney fees for a defense anyway? Do you know if and/or who the contingent beneficiary is for this policy?

 

[richardshane]

Thanks for the help Dandy Don.
At this point her Thai lawyers have probably sucked her dry...but who knows...My brother had me alone as the contingent beneficiary.

 

[richardshane]

I now know that the benefits from his policy with CIGNA shall be placed with the courts in Texas as a result the interpleader shall be held in that state. Now I need to find legal representation there, is a 30% plus expenses paid by me, contingency fee standard for insurance cases ?? It does seem rather high when expenses would still be payable from my share...as far as I know expenses could run very high if an attourney has a free reigning expense account......Still dealing with his other insurance policies with UNUM as they denied paying out benefits as he was on STD at the time of his death and they stated in their denial that as a result he was not working as a full-time employee therefore coverage ceased to exist at the end of the month of his injury. What they didn't do was look further down the page where it states UNLESS sick or injured....did they fail to read this far down?? or just an easy excuse to deny the claim...funnny they would deny his claim on this basis yet were still accepting payments on these policies whilst he was on STD...Anyone have any ideas on these issues...

 

[richardshane]

Lots of views but not many comments....Does anyone have any opinions or comments on any of these policies ?? I need to find an attourney located in Texas as this is where the case is being handled. I've done internet searches looking for lawyers experienced in interpleading but not having much luck.

 

[richardshane]

There were two policies which were paid 50/50 employer/employee which were denied by the insurer, one policy was a basic life and AD&D the other is a supplemental life both life policies also included disability coverage. They sent me a letter which stated that when my brother was injured he was no longer considered in active employment therefore coverage ceased to exist at that time. They quoted a line under "when does your coverage end" it says "the date you are no longer in an eligible group" there are a few other lines and the last one states "the last day you are in active employoyment unless continued due to a labour dispute or due to a covered layoff or leave of absence or due to an injury or sickness, as described in this certificate of coverage. The denial had really bothered me and I have read this manual many times over the period of almost 2 years and I really did beleive my brother was covered on these policies as they never once in either manual said that your coverage for life policies which included disability where suspended during the elimination period...my brother started to recieve STD payments through his company on Sept 18,2007 and was murdered on Feb 3rd, 2008 and during this whole period of time he was still paying his insurance plans through his employers deductions....I thought maybe he was actually paying through his elimination period which I did not quite understand so I looked it up in the Glossary of the manual for these policies ELIMINATION PERIOD means a period of continuous disability which must be satisfied before you are eligible to have your life premium waived by UNUM. A lot of information within this manual is not very clear but finally last month I did a search on the internet for "elimination period" and the definition that I found stated that benefits are not payable during the 180 day elimination period. Why did they not mention this at all in my letter of denial they just stated he was no longer in a covered group. Is it because benefits are still payable on the AD&D ? I did send in my appeal in which I stated that he was covered if they would have looked furthe down the list etc. anyways I am awaiting their reply to my appeal. I know this is quite long and maybe a little confusing (imagine how I feel) but if anyone has any input I would appreciate it...Maybe I am totally off base and wrong here ?? Thanks for reading this lengthy thread.