Can I contest the beneficiary on my father’s life insurance policy?
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Can I contest the beneficiary on my father’s life insurance policy?
My father just recently passed and we are contacting all of his life insurance policies to report his death. My husband and I are finding that the older policies have his adopted daughter as the named beneficiary because originally when he named his beneficiary she was his POA and older than I was; she was instructed to divide the policy equally to each of his children (he has 3 other adopted children). In the last few years he has gotten ill my husband and I have taken care of him all of the other kids have since lost contact because they weren’t benefiting financially any longer.
Asked on July 1, 2011 under Insurance Law, Texas
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
I am so sorry for your loss. Yes, you can contest, as you call it, the distribution of the proceeds of a life insurance policy. What will result, though, is that the insurance company will interplead the funds in to court and you will have to start litigation against your older sister to get the funds. Now, here is the thing: a person can name whom ever they want as the beneficiary of life insurance proceeds. The distribution is not included in the probate in court. The proceeds are sent directly to the beneficiary after they fill out the required forms. So what you need to di is to send a letter to the insurance company indicating that you are contesting the distribution of the proceeds to your older sister and requesting that the insurance company interplead the funds in to court. Then get a lawyer. Although you say that she is supposed to distribute the funds evenly you are going to have to prove that. And if you are really saying that you want all of the funds because of the family circumstances, well, you need a good lawyer. Good luck.
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