by Guest » Fri Sep 16, 2011 09:21 pm
My father recently passed i was informed that I was beneficiary on one policy. The other policy he had the beneficiary as my mother who is actually his ex wife. His current wife contested the policy, sent in a divorce decree and the life insurance company told he that she was denied. She is now contesting again and the life insurance company told her that there is nothing they can do because all they have record of is his ex wife's name as the bene. Along with the divorce decree she sent in copies of form that my father filled out splitting up the life insurance in different percentages between herself and all of us kids but he did the forms wrong the percentages were not right. She told me that if she is to get the money then none of us kids are getting anything! Is there ANYTHING SHE CAN SUBMIT to over turn the life insurance company's denied decision?
Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 08:23 pm Post Subject:
MAXX ...Ok....so I am THE CONTINGENT BENE on this policy. My mother (the ex) most likely will be disqualified due to the fact that in her divorce decree she did waive her rights to life insurance. With her being ruled out i am the next in line as far as a bene is concerned. Would then my step mother be able to contest me and have any legs to stand on?
Also, I owe a small amount of money in past due child support.If my step mother chose to contest me and we went to court would the knowledge of me owing the child support be brought up? I have no issue on paying the support..it would be a blessing to be able to pay the rears off! I am just wondering if me owing would be brought up in court?
Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 10:19 pm Post Subject:
You still have to go the employer's PLAN DOCUMENT for its employee benefits program to determine what status an ex-spouse has with regard to the plan. If the plan document does not remove a spouse following divorce, then, with regard to the plan, your mother remains the beneficiary of the plan/life insurance. If the plan document says the current spouse is the beneficiary, then it does not matter that you were the contingent beneficiary, because step-mom is the beneficiary.
The PLAN DOCUMENT is the most important piece of paper at the moment. Get a copy from the employer (whatever was in effect at the time of your father's death) and read it so you know what the situation is.
Mom's waiver of the right to the money in her divorce decree gives you legal recourse to force her to pay you an equivalent amount of money if she is paid the death benefit. That is what the Michigan court has said in the case I referred you to above.
Unless the plan document makes her the beneficiary, step-mother is out of luck 100%. She can protest all she wants she can even attempt to sue whoever gets the money, but she has no way of prevailing. She has no claim to the money. Period. So don't be concerned about any other issues.
Even the party to whom you are in arrears for child support has no power to prevent the life insurance money from getting into your hands. Once it's in your hands, the story changes, and they have legal recourse against the money.
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 05:39 pm Post Subject:
Ok...SO the PLAN document is KEY! My mother (the ex) called FIDELITY which handles GM benefits and wanted a copy of the policy..they stated that they have no record and that she would have to contact METLIFE. She did so and they told her since an appeal was in the process they COULD NOT send her a copy???? Makes no sense to me because she is the Primary Bene on this policy and seeing how she is being appealed by my step mother on this policy you would think that she would be able to obtain this copy of the policy? Your thoughts?
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 08:49 pm Post Subject: ``
If it's a group policy, the employer will have a copy your mother can view . . . somewhere. But the policy is unimportant. What is most important is the PLAN DOCUMENT -- that is not the policy. The plan document describes who may participate in the plan, who is eligible for what benefits, who may/may not be a life insurance or retirement plan beneficiary, etc.
Until you see that document, all else is speculation. The plan document would probably come from the same place as a copy of the life insurance policy at GM. Fidelity may be the retirement plan custodian, but I doubt that they are the PLAN ADMINISTRATOR. You could have your mother contact the union that your father was a member of. They probably have a copy of the plan document, and maybe even a copy of the life insurance policy.
Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 06:04 pm Post Subject: Protesting a Beneficary
My Mom passed in 2008 at 90 yrs old. My Dad at 95 desided to sell their home in 2010. My Dad had macular degeneration and could not see. Also he could not hear very well. After his property sold, a friend talked him into putting the proceeds from the sale of the house into a Capital One Money Market.The friend, my sister and I are the beneficaries. My Dad passed Sept 2011. We have a will from our Mom and Dad leaving all property to my sister and I. Because this Capital One account was opened with the proceeds from the sale of our parents home can we contest the friend as a beneficary on the account? We believe he was coersed into opening this account so she could inherit the proceeds from the sale of our parents house. She is 93 years old.
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2011 04:43 am Post Subject:
Sure you can contest it, you do have the rights to. But as she is one of the named beneficiaries, I'm not sure if contesting it will really work. Apart from that you'll have to spend a portion of the proceeds on the attorney. So, know your case well before you file it.
Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 11:46 am Post Subject:
Your question is one of contract law, not insurance. You have an uphill battle to fight, but it might be winnable. Proving to the court that Dad was unable to see and unable to hear well, could be reason to invalidate something done at the urging of an unrelated person. You will need a highly skilled attorney to fight for you, and it will cost upwards of 30%-40% of the recovery if you prevail. If you lose, it will still cost you thousands of dollars.
My questions are: Where were you and "sis" when Dad was busy selling the home? Was no one concerned then about his inability to see or hear? Why would neither of you "kids" be directly involved in helping Dad through this process? Were you "estranged" from Dad, and now that he's dead and buried, are pissed off because he left some of "your" money to another person closer to him?
These are the kinds of questions any attorney would also ask . . . when interviewing you as a potential client, or cross-examining you in court.
Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:20 pm Post Subject: Money Market
We were there helping Dad sell the house. The proceeds were deposited into his savings with my sister and I as signers. My Dad had gotten sick and these ladies had him sign a check whilte he was in the hospital so they could open the Capital One Money Market telling him it would get him more interest. They also closed out his savings and checking accounts and had him open another account for direct deposit of his SS and pension.We were not estranged. We were not informed. Dad lived in Illinois my sister lived 4 hours away and I live in Az. We believe these women coerced him into getting us off his accounts to get to his money. What do you think of this situation?
Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 04:10 am Post Subject:
OK. I understand the situation.
We believe these women coerced him into getting us off his accounts to get to his money. What do you think of this situation?
Unfortunately, I am not familiar with elder law in Illinois, but this is probably a crime of some kind, given the circumstances and persons with no insurable/financial interest involved, so I can't really tell you where you should begin. You can start by contacting the local law enforcement agency where this occurred and and discussing the matter with a detective, or the local district attorney's office and speak to a prosecutor that specializes in elder law matters. This could be a "tip of the iceberg" scam that can be busted wide open.
In California, we have an entire chapter of law on Elder Financial Abuse that more and more states are adopting into their own laws. I don't know if Illinois has done anything in this direction.
Keep us informed of your efforts.
Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 05:31 pm Post Subject: Money Market
My sister being in Illinois, has the bank attorney looking into the matter. I will let you know what we find.....Thank you for your input it was very helpful. We were not estranged. Matter of fact my sister and I remodeled my parents kitchen in 2008.
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