Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Hello,
My father recently passed away. Way back in the early 1980s, he took out a life insurance policy for me (the policy has him as the "owner" and me as the recipient of the policy). Both he and my mother are listed as the Primary Beneficiaries of the policy. My dad and mom had a Living Trust, which is current, and I am listed as the Trustee, after my mom. My dad gave my mom full power of attorney for all legal matters, before he passed away; and my mom is still living. I was recently notified by the life insurance company that I need to go through Probate Court to change ownership of the policy, since they say it was listed in my dad's name and not in the name of the Trust. Is there any way to avoid going through the Probate process, which seems to be quite expensive and possibly lengthy? Can my mom simply have ownership given to her or to me instead somehow? Thank you for your help!
Sincerely,
K.G.
1 Answer from Attorneys
You need to contact a lawyer who can help you file a petition for instructions allowing the policy to be paid into the trust. Your mother would be the likely person to be the petitioner as it is arguably her community property anyway.
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