Question
I have a client Female 50 in the State of CT. She is the bene on a life insurance policy for her ex-husband. He passed away but the insurance company (Prudential) is saying that the kids are gettig the $$. Thsi is based on a review they did of their divorce decree. She is the executor of his estate and named bene. Is this legal. They were divorced in Ohio and he lived in TN. Any help would be appreciated...
Answer
To fully and correctly answer your question we would need a review of the relevant passages of the divorce decree and if the insurance was part of an employee benefits plan such as ERISA.
Answer
FURTHER Clarification:
I would suggest you or your client read IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF : MICHAEL H. HOLYCROSS which can be found .
Also, from a cursory reading of the relevant statute R.C. § 1339.63, unless the moving party (in this case your client the original beneficiary) specifically preserves her rights to the insurance in the divorce decree, then she is deemed to have pre-deceased the insured for purposes of the beneficiary .
So, unless your client's rights are specifically preserved in the divorce decree as to the insurance, the company is correct and the monies go to the next listed beneficiaries
Answer
What month and year was the will signed and did he have an attorney's assistance to do it?
What month and year did he die?
What month and year did the divorce occur? How long was she married to him?
Are you saying that he never updated or revised his will after the divorce?
Was the life insurance policy purchased through his place of employment or on his own as a private individual? What is the value of the policy? What is the value of the other assets in the estate, not including the insurance policy?
DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA (tiekh@yahoo.com)
Answer
Poster,
None of this information is relevant.
The ONLY relevant information you need concern yourself with is the divorce decree. If the life insurance was not mentioned in the decree, state probate statues treats it as if you were never listed as the beneficiary.
it matters not when the will was made, how much it was for or anything else.
And if you question that, pay your own probate attorney for the advice.
Answer
What is not relevant is YOUR posting of Ohio case law that has nothing to do with a Connecticut case.
It may not be relevant to you, but it is relevant to me and I had reasons for wanting this information--it is helpful to know all extenuating circumstances when one of these factors could come into play while researching the law.
One more question: it is correct that the decedent never remarried, right?
DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA (tiekh@yahoo.com)