Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia
My mother and father were married for 35 years.. she had life insurance on my dad being her as the beneficiary and my sister and I as the secondary beneficiaries. My mother died in 2003 and talking to my father about his life ins. Policies they had on him, there were at least 5 or 6 different policies on him. The ones I saw totaled over $70000. Well when he remarried in 2006, his new wife tried to keep my sister and I out of the picture as much as possible. So when my dad died in 2009, I figured there would be no problem for me and my kids to go to their house for a visit . Mind you my dad and his new wife lived in the house that my mother and father bought before he ever met the new wife. At my dad's funeral she would not let me go for a visit... I wasn't thinking about the money or anything. But now I've been thinking that my mother and father paid those ins policies for me and my sister in the event if their demise. I just don't know how to go about finding out about those policies for 1, and what other rights my sister and I have towards his estate or rights to his ashes?? Can you help me figure this out?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Let's have a reality check here. Those policies are not for you and your sister. You did not pay anything for them. The purpose of life insurance is to provide compensation to the survivors after the insured person dies. Only the owner of the policy could change the beneficiary. Who actually was the OWNER of the policies? Your father was the insured - that did not necessarily mean he was the owner. So what happened to the policies when your mother died? Who became the owner? Did they have a cash surrender value? Were they cashed in? Or were they left alone? Who is the insurer? Have you spoke to them? Life insurance proceeds do not pass through probate so that is not dependent on your step-mother.
The second issue concerns your father. Did he have a will? What did he own and how was it titled? Has an estate been probated for your father? If not, why not? Who is the executor named in the will|? What does the will say about who gets what? If the step-mother is an executor and there is a will, then she can be compelled to produce it. if there is no will, then you and your siblings get to inherit any property owned by your father along with your step-mother. Depending on how many siblings you have, it ranges from about 1/3rd to 1/2 the estate for your step-mother. Although this assumes there are probate assets. Was your step-mother added to the deed of the home? What about bank accounts? Were these joint?
I suggest you go and see a probate attorney in the county/state where your father lived at the time of his death. Before you do, do some research - find out how the land is titled. If you have a copy of the will or any insurance papers, let the attorney review these documents.
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