Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Oregon
Sister Died, Legally Seperated, Life Insurance
My twin sister was legally saperated for 6 months. There was a complete division of property and finances. Their life insurance policy was jointly owned. She changed the beneficiary to myself 2 months prior to her death. Her ex did not sign the papers to make this change. Her agreement states he needed to execute documents (not specific to insurance policy) when requested. He cashed the full policy in the day after her funeral. Can their policy be considered property? What legal rights to I have as re-designated beneficiary?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Sister Died, Legally Seperated, Life Insurance
Was the policy through your sister's work? If so, federal law may come into play. It's hard to decipher your rights based on what you said because sometimes the divorce decree controls the assets and sometimes federal law may trump that, if it's applicable (i.e. an employer's provided policy).