what lawyer to contest beneficiary life insurance

Do you need a life insurance attorney for a beneficiary contest?

If you find yourself in the middle of a beneficiary contest, you need to have an experienced life insurance attorney on your side. Our beneficiary contest lawyers will listen to you carefully, evaluate your case, outline possible venues of handling the dispute, and design a legal strategy that will work to protect your rights.

Is your life insurance beneficiary designation being contested?

Contesting life insurance beneficiary designations can happen for a number of reasons. If you’re the beneficiary that’s being contested, you may need an estate planning attorney to help guide you through the legal process. And if you have a life insurance policy, it’s important to know what can trigger disputes over beneficiaries after you’re gone.

How do I challenge a life insurance beneficiary?

Notify the life insurance company. Unless the insurance company is formally informed in writing of a challenge to the beneficiary, they must pay to the named beneficiary. Once the beneficiary is officially challenged, the insurance company will file what is called an interpleader action with the courts. With this filing:

Can you dispute the beneficiary of a life insurance policy?

There are different reasons why someone may choose to dispute the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. If you believe you have a valid claim to contest someone’s beneficiary status or your own position as a beneficiary is being challenged, it’s important to understand how disputes can affect life insurance payouts.

Can you challenge a life insurance beneficiary?

Can a Life Insurance Beneficiary Be Contested? Any person with a valid legal claim can contest a life insurance policy's beneficiary after the death of the insured. Often, someone who believes they were the policy's rightful beneficiary is the one to initiate such a dispute.

What can override a beneficiary?

Executors have a fiduciary duty to the estate beneficiaries requiring them to distribute estate assets as stated in the will. This means that an executor can override a beneficiary's wishes if those wishes contradict the express terms of the will.

Can you detest a beneficiary?

Individuals may seek to contest a beneficiary designation on an IRA, life insurance policy, or other account for any number of reasons. However, while it is possible to contest a beneficiary designation, it's crucial to note that this process isn't always cut-and-dry.

What happens when a life insurance policy is contested?

What happens when a life insurance policy is contested? If an insurer contests a life insurance claim, they will deny or reduce the death benefit paid out to your beneficiaries and provide a detailed explanation as to why the claim was contested.

Who can change beneficiary on life insurance?

Revocable, which means the owner of the life insurance policy can change the beneficiary at any time without notifying the previous beneficiary. Irrevocable, which means the owner of the policy cannot change the beneficiary without that individual's consent.

Can an executor withhold money from a beneficiary?

Executors can withhold monies from beneficiaries, though not arbitrarily. Beneficiaries may be unable or unwilling to receive a gift by a will. The executor's job is onerous and the time taken to execute a will may vary greatly.

Can life insurance beneficiary be changed?

A revocable beneficiary can be changed at any time. Once named, an irrevocable beneficiary cannot be changed without his or her consent. You can name as many beneficiaries as you want, subject to procedures set in the policy. The beneficiary to whom the proceeds go first is called the primary beneficiary.

Can an executor override a beneficiary?

Ways an Executor Cannot Override a Beneficiary An executor cannot change beneficiaries' inheritances or withhold their inheritances unless the will has expressly granted them the authority to do so. The executor also cannot stray from the terms of the will or their fiduciary duty.

Do life insurance companies contact beneficiaries?

No. Life insurance companies do not contact beneficiaries. If you own a life insurance policy, it is important to discuss any existing life insurance policies with your beneficiaries so that they know about the policy and can access the death benefit.

Can a beneficiary be overturned?

Generally speaking, yes. If someone else believes that the policyholder's choice of beneficiary should not be honored then they can raise a claim to dispute it. This, however, can be a lengthy and time-consuming process that involves hiring an attorney and contesting the beneficiary in court.

How long does a contested life insurance Claim take?

How soon the benefits will be paid depends on how fast you submit claim paperwork, laws governing the claim, and the insurance company's processing time. Unless your claim is contested, in the majority of cases, insurers must pay claims within 30 to 60 days after they receive all the documents that they have requested.

What is a contestable death investigation?

“Contestable” policy (death occurs within 2 years of policy issue or reinstatement date) Under industry standards, a policy claim is “contestable” if the date of death is within the 2-year period following the policy issue date or reinstatement date.

Can a Life Insurance Beneficiary Designation Be Contested?

Yes, you can contest a life insurance beneficiary designation and you may be able to sue for life insurance proceeds.

Can someone with power of attorney change a life insurance beneficiary?

Yes, but if that change was not authorized by the insured or was clearly self-serving, that can be challenged. For example, in one of our recent ca...

Was there a mistake made on the change of beneficiary form?

Sometimes, the policyholder may intend to change the beneficiary on a life insurance policy but make mistakes when completing or filing the change...

What Happens When the Life Insurance Beneficiary is an Ex-Spouse?

The law is complex regarding life insurance and divorce. After divorce, an insured will likely want to change the primary beneficiary on their life...

What Do I Do if I am the Named Beneficiary on a Life Insurance Policy and Someone Disputes that?

Challenging a life insurance beneficiary designation can be a complex, difficult, and heavily litigated process. Defending your designation as bene...

What happens if you are the rightful beneficiary of a life insurance policy?

If you are the rightful beneficiary of a life insurance policy yet your claim has been denied, or if you are defending in a beneficiary dispute, don’t hesitate to contact us for help. Life insurance beneficiary rules.

Why do you dispute a beneficiary designation?

Common reasons to dispute a life insurance beneficiary designation include: the beneficiary designation was forged, the beneficiary designation was fraudulent, the beneficiary designation was made under duress, there were errors on the change of beneficiary form, and. state law mandates a beneficiary change. When a policyholder passes away, his ...

What are some examples of life insurance policies after divorce?

An example of a life insurance policy after a divorce. Let’s take the example of Mary, Bill, and John. Mary and Bill married, had children, and divorced. The divorce decree gave full custody of their children to Bill, who receives monthly child support payments from Mary.

Can a beneficiary change when a policyholder passes away?

state law mandates a beneficiary change. When a policyholder passes away, his or her life insurance benefit is supposed to go to the named beneficiary, often a spouse, family member, or close friend. However, when multiple beneficiaries claim the death benefit, ...

Can Bill sue Mary's insurance company?

However, this goes against the divorce decree, which explicitly states that Bill should remain beneficiary. Bill now may have legal grounds to sue either Mary’s estate or the insurance company since he, not John, was the legally valid beneficiary to Mary’s policy.

Can an insurance company reject a death benefit?

Insurance companies will often reject forms which are incomplete or improperly formatted, in which case the originally designated beneficiary receives the death benefit instead of the “new” one. In contrast to allegations of fraud, invalid forms provide a strong argument in favor of the “new” beneficiary.

Can a forged beneficiary change?

Yes, this is one of the most common reasons for life insurance disputes. Where there are allegations of a forged life insurance beneficiary change, typically, a family member may have originally been named beneficiary, yet the policyholder recently designated someone else to receive benefits in their place.

What happens if someone puts a claim on a life insurance policy?

If another individual also puts in a claim on this life insurance policy then there is a beneficiary dispute.

What happens if a dispute between beneficiaries occurs?

If a dispute among beneficiaries occurs, it is always in the best interest of the beneficiaries and their respective life insurance beneficiary dispute attorneys to try and resolve the situation amicably.

What happens when you claim multiple people on a life insurance policy?

When multiple parties claim to be the legal beneficiary of a life insurance policy, the holding company will typically pursue an interpleader action. As mentioned before, this allows the life insurance company to deposit the policy proceeds with a court, which will later payout once resolved.

What is it called when an insurance company is unwilling to pay a life insurance payout?

When all other options have been exhausted and the insurance company is unwilling or unable to award a life insurance payout to a beneficiary or group of beneficiaries, they will often file what is called interpleader with the court.

What may have happened to the insured?

What may have happened is that the insured provided a life insurance beneficiary change form. This is what has to be challenged by the individual not agreeing to the beneficiary named. In order to be able to challenge this the individual that is creating the beneficiary dispute has to have reason to do so.

How many beneficiaries can you have on a life insurance policy?

There is no one way for a person to structure a life insurance policy and the number of beneficiaries can range from one to multiple. For example, Bob may have a life insurance policy through his company for $5 million. He has listed his wife as the beneficiary.

What is a no listed beneficiary?

No listed beneficiary; Suspicion of the beneficiary having played a role in the death of the policyholder; Percentages allotted to beneficiaries not equaling 100%; and. Other disputes regarding the laws governing distribution or other pre-existing contracts or court orders impacting the life insurance policy.

What is the name of the action that an insurance company must file to challenge a beneficiary?

Once the beneficiary is officially challenged, the insurance company will file what is called an interpleader action with the courts. With this filing:

What does it mean to set aside beneficiary designations?

In some cases, courts will set aside beneficiary designations if they were made by virtue of fraud, undue influence, or mental incompetency. These are difficult, but not impossible, to prove.

Do insurance proceeds go to a spouse?

In some states, laws provide that insurance proceeds must go to particular people . For instance many states require a spouse be designated as beneficiary unless the spouse consents in writing to a different beneficiary designation.

Can you contest a life insurance beneficiary?

It's more difficult to contest a life insurance beneficiary than a will, because life insurance doesn't go through probate. However, if you can show that the deceased neglected to update the policy after a major life change, such as remarriage or adoption, or that the deceased had been subjected to undue pressure during a final illness, ...

Is a beneficiary a spouse?

Beneficiary is designated as “spouse”, but deceased is no longer married. Beneficiary is designated as “child”, but there is now more than one child. Beneficiary is designated by name to former spouse, but state law requires designation of current spouse.

Can you challenge a beneficiary?

Ideally, you will want to challenge the beneficiary designation prior to the insurance company paying out the claim. The insurance company cannot decide who to pay the claim to, but if there is a formal dispute as to the beneficiary, they will pay the policy out to a trust held by the courts until the dispute is settled.

Can a life insurance policy be settled?

While the case is open, the deceased's estate can't be settled, which means that legal fees, taxes and other expenses continue to accrue.

Why do people contest beneficiaries?

Many people who contest beneficiaries based on mental incapacity or duress do so because they believe that the insured’s wishes should be carried out.

What is contesting beneficiary designation?

Contesting Beneficiary Designation on a Life Insurance Policy. Life insurance is essentially a contract between the insured policyholder and the insurance company . Life insurance payouts are governed by policy terms and state or federal laws. Law surrounding estate planning, family, divorce, child support, trusts, ...

What happens if a beneficiary changes?

If a last-minute beneficiary change occurred, the old beneficiary and the new beneficiary will most likely submit competing claims for the same life insurance benefits.

What is a beneficiary dispute?

In the majority of cases, those disputing the existing beneficiary designation have a claim for benefits that is based either on a contract or divorce decree or on allegations of undue influence, duress, insured’s mistake or mental incapacity. Beneficiary disputes are complex and require legal counsel on both sides.

What is an insured's person will?

The insured’s person will is a separate document that is not usually taken into consideration when life insurance benefit is paid out. The life insurance company will pay benefits to the person named as the beneficiary of the policy.

Can a beneficiary change happen if the insured is ill?

Beneficiary designations can be challenged on the ground that the insured either lacked the mental capacity to make the designation or was unduly influenced to do so. Such last-minute beneficiary changes happen when the insured is gravely ill, in the hospital or nursing home, or of diminished mental capacity.

Is a last minute beneficiary change valid?

Last-minute beneficiary changes may or may not be valid. It is valid if it is executed by the insured who has the mental capacity to understand the nature of the documents and the consequences of beneficiary change and if it is performed out of free will without undue influence or duress.

Randall J Holmgren

You do not provide some potentially valuable information about your ex-husband, and your son. You say “ex-husband”, so I presume there is a divorce. Under the Divorce Decree, was your ex-husband required to carry life insurance for you, or your son? If so, then you have an action against your ex-husband's estate for the value of that insurance.

David R Hartwig

You can go through his checkbook to see who the premiums were made out to. There is no central database, so you will have to find it. Call the insurance company. If you are the beneficiary, they will tell you. A "life insurance lawyer" can be retained for a beneficiary dispute, and can force an interpleader. More

Christian K. Lassen II

I am sorry for your loss. Life insurance truly depends on the designated beneficiary and cannot usually be contested. Further, it is difficult to track down a policy when you do not know the holding institution.

How to prevent a contest of a life insurance beneficiary?

First, consider carefully who you want to benefit from your policy. This is especially important if you have minor children.

How does contesting life insurance work?

How Contesting Life Insurance Beneficiary Works. Contesting life insurance beneficiaries is a legal process but whether your dispute is subject to state or federal law can depend on the policy. If, for example, the life insurance policy was issued by an employer and is covered by ERISA guidelines then federal law would apply when disputing ...

What is a life insurance beneficiary?

Life insurance beneficiary designations allow the policyholder to decide who should receive a death benefit when he or she passes away. That doesn’t prevent someone from contesting life insurance beneficiary payouts, however. There are different reasons why someone may choose to dispute the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. If you believe you have a valid claim to contest someone’s beneficiary status or your own position as a beneficiary is being challenged, it’s important to understand how disputes can affect life insurance payouts.

What are some examples of contested life insurance?

Some examples of when a life insurance beneficiary may be contested include: A current spouse who objects to a former spouse being named as the life insurance policy’s beneficiary. Adult children who believe they should be named beneficiaries to a parent’s policy. Anyone who believes the original beneficiary designation was made under duress ...

Why remove a beneficiary from life insurance?

Again, the reasons for removing a beneficiary from a life insurance policy may tie in to life changes. A change in marital status, the birth or death of a child or a falling out with a family member could all prompt a change of life insurance beneficiary. Before changing a beneficiary, it’s important to consider the financial and legal implications.

Can an insurance company hold off on distributing death benefits to a named beneficiary?

Once the lawsuit is filed, the insurance company may choose to hold off on distributing death benefits to the named beneficiary until the case is resolved. The person bringing the lawsuit to contest a beneficiary would need to demonstrate to the court why their claim should be upheld.

Can you keep your former spouse as a beneficiary?

If you’re divorced, for example, but you’re required to keep your former spouse as the beneficiary as part of your divorce decree attempting to make changes could be problematic. In that scenario, it could make more sense to simply purchase a new policy and name someone else as a beneficiary.

What is contesting a life insurance beneficiary?

When someone disputes whether that named beneficiary should receive the payment after the policyholder's death, it's known as contesting a life insurance beneficiary. Beneficiaries are often a spouse, child or close relative of the deceased, and there may be no question among friends and family that the beneficiary should receive ...

How to reduce the chance of a beneficiary contest after their death?

To reduce the chance of a beneficiary contest after their death, a policyholder may wish to take precautions, including: Updating beneficiaries after major life events or document that a lack of change was intentional. Following insurance company procedures when changing beneficiaries.

How to change beneficiary after death?

To reduce the chance of a beneficiary contest after their death, a policyholder may wish to take precautions, including: 1 Updating beneficiaries after major life events or document that a lack of change was intentional 2 Following insurance company procedures when changing beneficiaries 3 Involving witnesses in beneficiary changes that may be controversial — like replacing an adult child with a new spouse

What happens when a life insurance beneficiary is challenged?

The insurance company won't disburse funds while the case is pending.

Why would a court remove a beneficiary?

Finally, a court might remove a beneficiary for specific legal reasons that depend on the policy's terms and applicable state laws. Examples include situations where the beneficiary caused the insured's death or where a court order required a specific person to be named as the beneficiary.

Can a probate judge decide the outcome of a beneficiary contest?

However, beneficiary contests are often hotly disputed, and finding a compromise may not be possible. In these cases, a probate judge must determine the outcome.

Can you contest a life insurance policy?

Any person with a valid legal claim can contest a life insurance policy's beneficiary after the death of the insured. Often, someone who believes they were the policy's rightful beneficiary is the one to initiate such a dispute. Contesting a life insurance beneficiary is hard, and it's almost always a long and expensive process.

What can an attorney do to help you?

Moving forward, an attorney can hone a strategy to work toward the best possible outcome in your situation.

How to reduce the likelihood of a beneficiary designation being challenged?

In many cases, you can reduce the likelihood that a beneficiary designation will be challenged through comprehensive and mindful planning. Your estate planning attorney can help you take all steps needed to ensure that you keep control, even when you are unable to speak on your own behalf.

What are beneficiary designations in Michigan?

Here in Michigan, many people use beneficiary designations as a way to transfer some of their most important assets outside of probate — including retirement accounts, life insurance policies, annuities, brokerage accounts, bank accounts, and other securities. Indeed, for many estates, these nonprobate assets can constitute a large portion ...

Can you cancel a security in a beneficiary account?

While still living, the account or policy owner may usually change or cancel the registration of a security in beneficiary at any time, without needing the consent of the beneficiary.