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This is abit confusing but I will try to explain as simply as possible. My brother died unexpectedly in Michigan and did not leave a Will. He had been married twice. His second exwife was excluded from inheriting anything as per the divorce order but my brother did not realize that he had neglected to remove his first exwife from an old insurance policy he had (He suffered from brain injury and wasn't always lucid). Can anyone please tell me whether the first ex wife has an entitlement to this policy even though they were divorced over 15 yrs ago and he did not have any contact with her afterward? As I said he did not leave a Will and our mother is considered his next of kin. I cannot find a copy of the divorce papers for his first divorce to see what it says about inheritence rights. Can anyone please offer any advice....... please.
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Re: Brother died and ex wife named as beneficiary what to do?
I wish to inform you that beneficiary in a life insurance is based upon will or desire of the insurer. If your brother has written his ex wife name as beneficiary then she can only have such amount because then she is beneficiary. You can contest on the ground that your brother could not think like ordinary person and thus your brother failure to remove beneficiary was because of illness. .
AFF -
Re: Brother died and ex wife named as beneficiary what to do?
Life insurance proceeds are includable in the gross estate if:Originally posted by IRA111 View Post- the estate of the decedent is the beneficiary of the policy; or
- the beneficiary has a legally binding obligation to use the proceeds for the benefit of the decedent’s estate; or
- the decedent possessed, at his or her death, any “incidents of ownership,” which the decedent could have exercised at the time that he or she died.
In the absence of meeting the conditions above, then the named beneficiary is entitled to receive and keep the life insurance benefit and keep it to use as they see fit, as life insurance benefits would not otherwise be considered part of the deceased's estate.
As I see it, your brother's failure to revise his policy and name a new beneficiary is going to entitle that first ex-wife to a nice chunk of change. The fact that they were long-ago divorced and she has no connection to the family has no bearing on whether or not she is entitled to it. And the money-grubbing family members don't get a dime of it."If it ain't in writing, it never happened."
"A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."
"You can never make the same mistake twice, because the second time you make it, it's not a mistake, but a CHOICE."Comment
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Re: Brother died and ex wife named as beneficiary what to do?
Oh, please.Originally posted by AFFA View Post
The brother had the faculties present to dictate that the second ex-wife be excluded from any kind of benefit at his death, and that happened long after he divorced the first ex-wife - and probably much closer to when he would be considered incompetent.
He forgot - plain and simple. Or he never intended to change the beneficiary. There is no contest here to remove the beneficiary."If it ain't in writing, it never happened."
"A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."
"You can never make the same mistake twice, because the second time you make it, it's not a mistake, but a CHOICE."Comment
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Re: Brother died and ex wife named as beneficiary what to do?
Since your brother did not change beneficiaries, the ex is owner of the policy.Originally posted by IRA111 View Post
Since he died without a will, his estate will be apportioned according to Michigan's laws of succession.Comment
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