Legal Question in Insurance Law in New York

Re: Beneficary of Life Insurance of Mother is Sister's Ex-Husband of 15 Years

First I am very sorry for your loss. Life insurance is separate from your mother's "estate", so make sure you understand this important distinction.

Life insurance proceeds will not pass according to a will or the intestacy laws unless the beneficiaries are specifically designated as "my heirs" or it says, "according to my will". There is probably little you can do about the beneficiary designation unless you can show unusual and extraordinary circumstances at the time she included your sister's ex, like undue influence or duress, or that she lacked mental capacity. Short of him holding a gun to her head in front of witnesses, it will be very difficult to establish grounds to change the designation. Even if she was not mentally competent, you would need specific witness testimony from a qualified medical professional that she was not having a "lucid" moment at the very time she designated your ex-brother in law as a beneficiary.

I do not know all the particulars of the situation, and there may be factors that would cause me to revise the above advice if known. It is therefore advisable to speak to an attorney, and especially before attempting to contest any aspect of a will or life insurance policy.

Funeral expenses. The beneficiary of a life insurance policy has no obligation to contribute to funeral expenses. On the other hand, if your mother left any assets behind, her estate would need to be probated and you could put in a claim to be reimbursed by the testator/administrator out of those assets.

If she did not have a will, you could go to the Surrogate's Court in the County where she resided and get the forms to file for letters of administration to become the administratrix of the estate to oversee these matters.

Re: Beneficary of Life Insurance of Mother is Sister's Ex-Husband of 15 Years

Generally, life insurance proceeds are passed diectly to the benificiaries and do not become part of the estate. If your mother had a will her estate would be probabted, but if not, and she dies with assets, a petition should be filed for letters of administration by the next of kin.

If there are grounds to contest her designation of your ex-brother in law that would be the place to do it, either in surrogates court, or the supreme court.

Among the grounds to contest a designation like that are undue influence, or mental incapacity;

in this situation I would contact the company that issued the policy and ask for a copy of the

page where she desinated your ex brother in law.

Perhaps it will be a simple matter to show her intent was to leave it to the husbands of her married daughters? If she wrote him into the form as "my daughters husband" or some such language, because her intent is relatively easy to discern.

But if it is only his name and address, that will not be so easy.