contesting an insurance policy

Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:49 pm Post Subject: contesting an insurance policy

Who is the beneficiary of the life insurance policy? What state do you live in? You can’t contest the insurance policy, you can contest the payment only.

Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 01:47 pm Post Subject:

The following information comes from http://njlawnet.com/njlawreview/planningfordivorce.html

What happens if the beneficiary designations are not changed and the owner spouse dies? N.J. Stat. Ann. §3B:3-14 removes the ex-spouse as a beneficiary of a will after divorce but it does not provide the same treatment with respect to other testamentary devices. Thus, it would appear that the failure to revise the beneficiary designations would result in the ex-spouse being entitled to such benefits. This was the case in Vasconi v. Guardian Life Insurance Company. (51)

In Vasconi, a property settlement agreement entered into by the decedent and his former spouse, that was subsequently incorporated into a Final Judgment of Divorce, provided for a mutual waiver of alimony and a mutual waiver of all claims or obligations either may have had to the other arising out of the marital relationship. The agreement further provided for a relinquishment of all claims either may have had in the estate of the other party on the latter's death. Approximately 1 ½ years after the judgment of divorce, the husband died without changing the beneficiary designation on his life insurance policy. Since there was no formal written change of beneficiary, the trial court and Appellate Division held that the former wife was entitled to the death benefit. Relying upon the ruling in Carr v. Carr, the Supreme Court reversed the Appellate Division and remanded the matter to the trial court to determine whether the decedent intended to keep his former spouse as the beneficiary of the policy.

Accordingly, any reference to the ex-wife in Dad's will is one thing (she is considered to have predeceased him), but life insurance and other matters outside the will fo not view her the same way.

Your attempt to contest her as the beneficiary will likely be a lost cause. Not only will you probably not be able to overturn the designation, you could very well be responsible for all of her legal fees as well as your own.,

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 12:11 pm Post Subject:

Hard luck there. This is why advisers reiterate and re-emphasize the need for reviewing your [Link removed by Moderator MaxHerr] policy yearly to make sure such glaring discrepancies are taken care of. For other readers, beneficiaries indicated on a policy are set in stone; they cannot be changed on a will because a life insurance policy's own terms and conditions supersede those set in a will. You could speak to an attorney to find if there's another way out, but this will most likely turn up no solution.


Denise Mancini
Disclaimer: I work for AccuQuote and this is my personal opinion.

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 12:49 pm Post Subject:

Depending on the estate that the deceased lived in at the time of death, time of divorce and the time he named the ex wife as beneficiary, the ex wife may not be entitled to any money. In New York, the designation of a wife as beneficiary becomes void upon the filing of the judgment of divorce, absent an order to the contrary. Ordinarily, the estate is responsible for the cost of the [Link deleted by Moderator MaxHerr per TOU] -- not the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. If she is entitled to be beneficiary, then she is not obligated to pay the funeral costs out of the proceeds.

Delfina