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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Dalynne:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I can’t say I’ve researched the subject, but intuitively I don’t see how a fiduciary can be kin to a principal. Conceptually, a guardian stands in the place of the ward, but has no kinship as a parent does. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>That’s just my two cents. But what caught my eye about your post is that I had a case involving an IRA with a default provision that left it to the intestate estate of the decedent if there was no designated beneficiary. In my case the decedent had no descendants, had been alienated from parents and siblings and extended family on the East Coast for over thirty years. He had recently retired, and somehow married a Romanian woman in Romania, who never joined him here. After he died I had to work with the M.E. at Harborview to deal with his remains. It was at that point I learned that the wife had divorced him in a procedure in Romania (that would have been very burdensome and costly to secure the documentation on). The IRA custodian would not pay it out when we argued the ex-wife, as designated beneficiary, was removed by reason of RCW 11.07.010. <br><br>IMHO it is problematic for financial institutions to choose a default provision like yours or mine that is not the probate estate. There are just too many variations for them to imagine what the “right” result should be. In my case it meant the creditors are out of luck. My decedent had quite a bit of back taxes owed to the IRS. In your case perhaps, if the “partner” was in a CIR with the decedent, proceeds paid to the probate estate would be available to the “partner” because it represented an increase in the value of an asset (the life insurance policy) during the relationship. <br><br>In the end, the result in either case is likely to defer realization of the financial institution’s liability. The funds sit on their books for years after death. I am fairly certain they eventually get turned over to the state as unclaimed property and eventually escheat if not claimed. (Which raises another issue. In my case the IRA custodian is in FL. Do they pay into the unclaimed property system of FL or WA? I think the right answer should be WA, but am not sure.)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>John J. Sullivan<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'>From:</span></b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'> wsbapt-bounces@lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces@lists.wsbarppt.com> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Dalynne Singleton<br><b>Sent:</b> Friday, May 12, 2023 8:40 AM<br><b>To:</b> 'WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv' <wsbapt@lists.wsbarppt.com><br><b>Subject:</b> [WSBAPT] Life insurance default beneficiary<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif'>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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif'>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:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif'>1) to a surviving spouse; or if none<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif'>2) to the surviving child or children in equal shares; or, if none<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif'>3) to the surviving parent or parents in equal shares; or, if none<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif'>4) to the surviving brothers or sisters in equal shares: or, if none<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif'>5) to the estate, or in accord with the Facility of Payment section of this Policy<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif'>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:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;color:red'>(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. </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif'>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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'>Dalynne Singleton</span></i></b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'>Gourley Law Group</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'>Snohomish Escrow</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'>The Exchange Connection</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'>1002 10<sup>th</sup> Street / PO Box 1091</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'>Snohomish, WA 98291</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'>360.568.5065</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'>360.568.8092 fax</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="mailto:dalynne@glgmail.com" target="_blank"><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>dalynne@glgmail.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><u><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#0563C1'>Website: </span></u><a href="http://www.glglawgroup.com/" target="_blank"><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:blue'>www.glglawgroup.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>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 <u><span style='color:blue'><a href="mailto:theresa@glgmail.com,%20angelina@glgmail.com">theresa@glgmail.com, angelina@glgmail.com</a></span></u> or <a href="mailto:selina@glgmail.com"><span style='color:blue'>selina@glgmail.com</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-family:Californian;color:black'>LICENSED IN WASHINGTON</span></i><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'>IMPORTANT/CONFIDENTIAL: This e-mail message (and any attachments accompanying it) may contain confidential information, including information protected by attorney-client privilege. The information is intended only for the use of the intended recipient(s). Delivery of this message to anyone other than the intended recipient(s) is not intended to waive any privilege or otherwise detract from the confidentiality of the message. If you are not the intended recipient, or if this message has been addressed to you in error, do not read, disclose, reproduce, distribute, disseminate or otherwise use this transmission, rather, please promptly notify the sender by reply e-mail, and then destroy all copies of the message and its attachments, if any.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='color:black;mso-ligatures:none'><img border=0 width=84 height=120 style='width:.875in;height:1.25in' id="_x0000_i1027" src="cid:image001.gif@01D984B0.CEA71FF0"></span><span style='color:black'> </span><span style='color:black;mso-ligatures:none'><img border=0 width=183 height=96 style='width:1.9062in;height:1.0in' id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D984B0.CEA71FF0" alt="No alt text provided for this image"><img border=0 width=155 height=120 style='width:1.6145in;height:1.25in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image003.png@01D984B0.CEA71FF0"></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>