my father left me as the beneficiary on his life insurance policy, his estate is going thru probate?
there are family members contesting can that be introduced into probate.
Contesting the will? That's fine, life insurance isn't part of the estate - you can't "change" the beneficiary clause via a will.
Contesting the beneficiary clause? Well, unless you coerced him to change it right before he died, or forged the change, that's NEVER going to be changed. So that's a losing battle, assuming you've acted honestly.
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Sorry! Probate can be nasty. I took them out of the equation by having a will & trust drawn up! Good Luck! ;-)=
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If you are asking can they pull his ins. policy into the estate, the answer is no.
My brother died a while back. He had an ira and his condo. My dad was beneficiary of his ira. He received the ira straight up and we spent 3 years cleaning up the mess my brother left by dying without a will. When it was all said and done the legal heirs divided up the sale of the condo, minus the cost to pay off the mortgage.
I'm not a lawyer, but I do have this experience I listed above. I'm sure there are also websites you can go to or books from your library.
It sounds as if your relatives are more greedy than grieving. I hope things work out for you. Many families are broken apart by greed over inheritances. I do hope yours is not one of them.
By the way, if you are an adult and don't have a will, please get one. It may be the best and last gift you will ever give your loved ones. My brother's refusal to do this left me personally with a 3 1/2 year nightmare to deal with.
Good Luck to You.
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painful experience
Contesting the will? That's fine, life insurance isn't part of the estate - you can't "change" the beneficiary clause via a will.
Contesting the beneficiary clause? Well, unless you coerced him to change it right before he died, or forged the change, that's NEVER going to be changed. So that's a losing battle, assuming you've acted honestly.
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agent, 21+ years
Understand that probate deals with his estate. Life insurance creates an estate when it is purchased and is added to one if there is an estate before.
That being said, they can contest his estate but not you as his insurance beneficiary. You will receive that money because you are the beneficiary. However, the face amount of that policy WILL be included as part of his estate. There will be NO death/ Estate Taxes to be paid if his entire estate does not equal less than $2 million dollars. If more, than yes there will be death taxes that need to be paid.
Family can contest the will but cannot contest the fact that you are the beneficiary.
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Life insurance claims shouldn't really have anything to do with probate. You file the claim with the insurance company. As a matter of fact that is one of the benefits of life insurance.
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The policy is seperate from probate.
File the claim with the insurance company in order to receive death benefit proceeds.
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I had a similar situation with one of my clients where her husband (who was mentally ill as he was dying) changed his will so that his IRA would go to his brother instead of his wife. Fortunately for her, money transfers by contract (like a beneficiary) before probate. In most states, spouses are legally protected beneficiaries of qualified money.
In nasty situations like this, people like to try to contest it, but it is common knowledge that probate has no bearing in the matter. Good luck with your family.
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Generally, life insurance proceeds are not subject to probate proceedings, this is one of life insurances benefits. If you are the named beneficiary on the policy, you should be able to receive the benefits. I would contact the insurance company and file a claim. You should be able to receive the death benefit directly.
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I am life insurance agent 10 years experience.