Legal Question in Insurance Law in Georgia
In August of 2009, my father changed the primary beneficiary on his life insurance policy from my sister to me. She was made "contingent beneficiary". I also have power of attorney. On December 11, 2009 our father died and I filed a claim with the insurance company. My sister hired an attorney to dispute the beneficiary change. The insurance company is holding the funds until they see what my sister's attorney has. What is my recourse?
2 Answers from Attorneys
You need to hire a lawyer to respond. Obviously there is a lot to this that you have not posted, and you need a lawyer.
The usual basis for contesting a change in beneficiary is the contention that the deceased was mentally incompetent or that the new beneficiary had "undue influence" over the deceased prior to his death. The first contention is proved by medical evidence primarily and lay testimony secondarily. The second contention is proved by evidence that the new beneficiary had power over the deceased such as primary caregiver and the deceased feared alienating the the caregiver/new beneficiary. You need an attorney experienced with probate matters. The insurer is merely a stakeholder so do not expect any cooperation from them. They usually will try to hold on to the money as long as possible. I would be trying to get the insurer to pay the money into the registry of the court (probably the probate court but certainly the court where the litigation is filed). There is always the danger that the insurer will unilaterally decide to pay the money to your sister. Then you would theoretically also have a claim against the insurer but the insurance industry has an awful lot of ways to get off the hook in such a situation. I am assuming this is a Cobb County matter. If you call me I will get you to the right lawyer.
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