[WSBAPT] Insurance proceeds - no named beneficiary - messy family fight!

[Jane Bitz]

I had a case where a parent died with two minor children (age 14 & 16) and an ex-spouse named as beneficiary to his life insurance. The insurance company filed an interpleader case with the funds paid into the Court in the County in Washington where the decedent had lived. The action was separate from the probate his estate. We were able to have ex-spouse appointed to administer his estate (he was intestate and his family members declined to serve as PR). She Petitioned on behalf of her sons to establish uniform gifts to minors accounts for their shares of the life insurance after payment of the expenses of  the interpleader action, probate, funeral, burial etc. A GAL was appointed on behalf of the children who recommended the UGMA accounts for the disposition of the funds. The accounts were blocked by Court order until the children turned 18. Mom or children can Petition to release funds for a specific purpose.

You could contact the insurance company to see if they would be willing to interplead the proceeds in your county or the county where the adult child was domiciled.



Jane G Bitz
Of Counsel
Wolff, Hislop & Crockett, PLLC
12209 E Mission, Suite 5
Spokane Valley WA 99206-4824
(509) 927-9700; FAX (509) 777-1800
jbitz at whc-attorneys.com<mailto:jane at jbitzlaw.com>
[cid:image002.png at 01D06C8A.419B0730]




From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of G. (Gus) Benjamin Lindsey III
Sent: Friday, March 30, 2018 1:51 PM
To: 'WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv' <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: [WSBAPT] Insurance proceeds - no named beneficiary - messy family fight!

Good afternoon,

New one for me. PC's adult child died intestate, leaving behind a minor child. (Grandchild of PC) The deceased child was believed to not have any real assets so the family has not opened probate. In fact the main issue has been over custody of the child. (After the death, the other parent came to Washington and took the child out of state.) The other state apparently grants broader custody/visitation rights  to grandparents than Washington does so the PC and the child's father are litigating custody in the other state. (Allegedly the father has some substance abuse issues.)

The wrinkle is that PC has now learned that the deceased child had some type of life insurance policy that failed to list an heir. (I have advised PC to request the actual policy.)

The policy is estimated to be worth about 100K. Before contacting me, PC tried to make a claim directly with the insurance and learned that the "other parent" is also seeking the money on behalf of decedent's child. (The father and decedent were never married.)

Under intestate law, the minor child would be the heir. As a minor, a custodian would need to be appointed. PC wants to ensure that the money does not end up in the hands of the father, believing that he will simply blow it. Additionally, the PC paid over $15,000 for a funeral and wants compensation.

PC could move to open probate and then file a creditor claim, assuming that insurance money truly is in the estate. The insurance has indicated that it is on hold to see if the PC and the father of the child can work it out. (doubtful, they hate each other)

Any ideas/thoughts on the most practical way to address PC's most urgent concerns: 1) ensuring money truly goes for benefit of the grandchild and 2) seeking payment for the funeral expenses(which means PC would be a PR with a creditor claim potentially)

I dealt with a situation where a grandparent left insurance proceeds to a minor and we petitioned to have the parent appointed custodian with the funds going into a locked investment account until the child reached the age of maturity.

Trying to figure out the most effective way forward given the family dynamics. Any thoughts will be appreciated.


Sincerely,

G. (Gus) Benjamin Lindsey III
Attorney-at-Law
[cid:image002.png at 01D3C842.AA5E2650]

The Law Office of G. Benjamin Lindsey III
2012 Grade Road, Suite 202
Lake Stevens, WA 98258

Phone:   (425) 263-9585

website: www.gbl3law.com<http://www.gbl3law.com/>

Employment/Labor Law     Construction Law     Civil Litigation     Estate Planning      Probate
Business Law

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE: This e-mail message contains information belonging to The Law Office of G. Benjamin Lindsey III, which may be privileged, confidential and/or protected from disclosure.  The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above.  If you think that you have received this message in error, please contact the sender.  If you are not the intended recipient, any dissemination, distribution or copying is strictly prohibited





-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20180330/0ea1d45f/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 19722 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20180330/0ea1d45f/image001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 10411 bytes
Desc: image002.png
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20180330/0ea1d45f/image002.png>