[WSBAPT] Life insurance default beneficiary

[Dalynne Singleton]

My client (partner of decedent) has received notice that her partner's life insurance policy has no beneficiary.  The default from the life insurance company is not to pay into the Estate but to pay in the following order - there is no spouse or children.  The biological father has not been in the decedent's life for 20 years AND an uncle was her legal guardian.  The mother of the decedent predeceased her.  Is surviving "parent or parents" the legal guardian and not the biological father?  I wanted to see if anyone has any input on this issue.  Probate and family law issues seem to be overlapping for me lately.

The above referenced policy includes a provision that if the Insured Person did not name a Beneficiary, or if no named Beneficiary survives the Insured Person; then payment will be made based upon the following vesting order:

1) to a surviving spouse; or if none
2) to the surviving child or children in equal shares; or, if none
3) to the surviving parent or parents in equal shares; or, if none
4) to the surviving brothers or sisters in equal shares: or, if none
5) to the estate, or in accord with the Facility of Payment section of this Policy

RCW 11.02.005 (11) indicates the parent would be an "adoptive" parent but no indication if "legal guardian" is also the parent for purposes of life insurance:
(11) "Issue" means all the lineal descendants of an individual. An adopted individual is a lineal descendant of each of his or her adoptive parents and of all individuals with regard to which each adoptive parent is a lineal descendant. A child conceived prior to the death of a parent but born after the death of the deceased parent is considered to be the surviving issue of the deceased parent for purposes of this title.

Dalynne Singleton
Gourley Law Group
Snohomish Escrow
The Exchange Connection
1002 10th Street / PO Box 1091
Snohomish, WA 98291
360.568.5065
360.568.8092  fax
dalynne at glgmail.com<mailto:dalynne at glgmail.com>
Website:  www.glglawgroup.com<http://www.glglawgroup.com/>
Attorney/client meetings will be handled by teleconference or virtually whenever possible.  If you would like to set a telephone conference, zoom, Microsoft teams or in person meeting, please call or email my paralegal theresa at glgmail.com, angelina at glgmail.com<mailto:theresa at glgmail.com,%20angelina at glgmail.com> or selina at glgmail.com<mailto:selina at glgmail.com>.

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