Can I choose a third person as my life insurance beneficiary

by Guest » Tue Sep 30, 2008 04:32 am
Guest

Hi..is it possible for me to show someone as my life insurance beneficiary if the person is not my relative? What do I need to do in order to change my life insurance beneficiary?
Purpleheaded08

Total Comments: 90

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 11:23 pm Post Subject: Beneficiary

My Dad just passed away and had his live in named beneficiary on his Life Insurance Policy's and left nothing for his kid's. Then she refused to help with his service's.
He told us he had enough for his service's. How can she not have to cover the cost of his Funeral with his policy

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 12:13 am Post Subject: life insurance

Is it possible for me to contest my daughters life insurance beneficiary if he is non related and may be the one who caused her death?

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 07:30 pm Post Subject:

My Dad just passed away and had his live in named beneficiary on his Life Insurance Policy's and left nothing for his kid's. Then she refused to help with his service's.
He told us he had enough for his service's. How can she not have to cover the cost of his Funeral with his policy


The fact that she received life insurance is irrelevant. That's her money. You don't have to pay for a funeral for him either if you don't want to do so. Unfortunately, your dad wanted his live in to get the money and unfortunately, she doesn't care about his funeral.

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 07:32 pm Post Subject:

Is it possible for me to contest my daughters life insurance beneficiary if he is non related and may be the one who caused her death?



The fact that he is non related doesn't matter. If he did cause her death, it would make a difference. However, absent legal proof that he killed her, you don't stand much of a chance.

Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 04:45 pm Post Subject:

In case you show your estate as the beneficiary of your life insurance, then it would add more to the size of your estate,undergo probation and develop the estate tax liability.



Some misinformation here. The "value" of life insurance is ALWAYS part of the owner's estate for estate tax purposes, regardless of who the beneficiary is. This is the reason many people make a life insurance trust the owner instead of personally owning the policy. The trust has a 99 year lifespan. If there is no money in the trust at the end of 99 years (as will probably be true), there is nothing to tax.

We recently got a 401K statement in the mail and my husband had me listed as the beneficiary and on this last statement it had said "no beneficiary listed".



Although related under the heading of "beneficiary," this is a very different matter. The disposition of "qualified retirement plan" assets falls under federal law. The rules here are somewhat different than those for life insurance policies/proceeds, which are subject to state law.

Federal law requires that "qualified plan" assets must be paid to a person's current spouse upon death of the account holder. If not married, the beneficiary may be anyone of the account owner's choosing. The only way to get around this is for the spouse to sign off on his/her rights to first position. This is "informed consent."

EXAMPLE: An unmarried/divorced person names their child (minor/adult, immaterial) as the beneficiary of their 401(k), 403(b), IRA, etc. Several years later, the account owner gets married. The new spouse is AUTOMATICALLY the beneficiary of the account, prior beneficiary designations notwithstanding. For the child to once again be the primary beneficiary, the new spouse must consent, in writing, to be replaced. Absent the consent of the new spouse, the child is no longer the primary beneficiary, but would endure as the contingent beneficiary.

Nevertheless, it would be a good idea to contact the Plan Custodian or Plan Administrator and get this resolved, in writing.

[[ Note also that to borrow money from a 401(k) or 403(b) account, if married, the account owner's spouse must give written consent, acknowledging that they are giving up their entitlement to 100% of the account assets to the extent of the unpaid loan balance + interest. Same rules. ]]

Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 03:32 pm Post Subject: how do I find out if my ex has a policy

My ex husband is suppose to have a lifed ins policy for our 2 kids with me being beneficiary. thats in our divorce papers..Unfortunately he lies all the time. So I have no idea if he does or not..should he have to give me a copy? Is there a way to find out if he has one or not?

Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 06:40 pm Post Subject:

If you have a court order, the court will enforce it for you. Simply file an action in family court forcing him to show proof that the policy exists. If he lies to the court, he can go to jail for perjury.

It would be a BETTER idea if you were the owner of the policy. That way, if he failed to pay a premium, you would get a notice of pending lapse and could make the payments and then sue him for the value of the payments. As the owner, you would be able to make yourself or your children the beneficiaries of the policy without fear of being removed.

Some divorce attorneys understand this, and some do not. If you file an action to prove that the insurance exists, add to it a motion to compel ABSOLUTE ASSIGNMENT of the ownership to you. Once that document is executed and filed with the insurance company, it is a done deal. You are the policyowner and in full control. The court can still order him to pay the premiums, or it can order him to pay the money to you and you will pay the premiums. If he fails to pay, you haul his butt back into court and let him explain it to the judge. That kind of a contempt order may be pursued as an ex parte action in some states.

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:44 pm Post Subject: Beneficary Fraudtly Changed

My father passed away in Oct. and I found out six weeks later that the beneficary was changed to my brothers ex girlfriend. My dad had deminta. The will & papers leaves me all. The company my dad retired with is not telling me a thing or my attorney. All my family is deceased and the beneficary died a few weeks ago. Where does this leave me?

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 10:00 am Post Subject:

The life insurance money was payable to the named beneficiary at the time of your father's death. If you believe there was foul play involved in the change of beneficiary, you would have to take that claim to Civil Court. Now that the beneficiary is also deceased, you can only file against her estate. If there is nothing there, it's a lost cause.

As far as your father's estate, his will governs the disposition of his other assets. You get what you get according to that document and what remains of the estate after the claims of creditors are satisfied.

Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 05:43 pm Post Subject: beneficiary question

My wife's mother died without listing any beneificiaries. Can she claim her insurance? What happens to what she put into the account?

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