Can a child of deceased father contest the beneficiary on the life insurance policy if a divorce was going to happen?
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Can a child of deceased father contest the beneficiary on the life insurance policy if a divorce was going to happen?
My father passed away 2 weeks ago and his soon-to-be ex-wife is the sole beneficiary on his life insurance policy. I am pretty sure she will also get the house which was only in his name and paid off before they got married. I want to know if there is any way I can contest or stop her from getting all my father’s stuff, because their divorce hearing was schedule less than a week after he passed away?
Asked on August 1, 2012 under Insurance Law, West Virginia
Answers:
Terence Fenelon / Law Offices of Terence Fenelon
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Unless your father made other arrangements for the disposition of his property through a will or a trust document of some sort, the property would likely pass to his widow. Many states recognize the rights of survivors in cases such as this. Did your father ever place title of the proerty in his new wife's name?
I don't believe you have a shot at the life insurance policy unless you were named a beneficiary. The timing of your father's demise is irrelevant. There was no decree of divorce existing at the time which would hace extinguished his new wife's insurable interest.
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