Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Hello,
I have a quick question regarding my status in the right to being an heir of an estate.
Recently I was notified by my father that my grandfather had a life insurance policy in place and he passed away in November of 2010. He had a will in place which named my uncle as the executor of the state. Now it has come to pass that my uncle has called making threats towards my father on several occasions regarding other matters, but from our assumptions it is very clear my uncle and his domestic partner are trying to get the life insurance and leave us out completely. They had recently made my father sign a disinheritance form under daress stating if he did not do so he would not get paid at work(we own a family insurance brokerage), or from the incoming life insurance policy. Now it has recently come to my attention that the check has already been sent out. Yet I was never notified once about any court dates or such, though my grandfather claimed me as a dependent for the last nine years of his life. Am I legally inclined to receive a notification for court? And is there any way I can now contest the will?
On a side note my uncle just recently had a stroke in which we believe was drug induced seeing as how the hospital had told us they did a toxicology report and he was indeed intoxicated. As of now we do not see the Uncle as a fit executor as he is making threats and seems to be on drugs is there any form of action we can take to make sure the life insurance policy gets split up evenly like intended in the will?
4 Answers from Attorneys
Sorry for your loss.
If there was a valid beneficiary named on the life insurance policy, then it is not subject to the Will and not subject to probate. The insurance proceeds should be distributed directly to the named beneficiaries. You have no interest and are not entitled to notice if were not named as a beneficiary.
Also, if that was your grandfather's only asset and it had a valid beneficiary, then there would be no probate proceeding. If there is a probate proceeding, then your father should speak with an attorney about having your uncle removed as the executor.
Insurance policies name beneficiaries that get paid and are unaffected by a will. If you are not named in the policy as a beneficiary, you are not entitled to the proceeds of the policy even if named in the will.
The only way an insurance policy pays into an estate is if that is the way the beneficiary statement is worded, i.e. "payable to my estate" or "payable to the estate of (the insured)". You need to do some digging to see if that is what it said.
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