Legal Question in Insurance Law in Pennsylvania

Proceeds of Insurance Policy

If, as you believe, the only beneficiary is deceased, then the policy benefits should pass to her estate. If she left a will, the proceeds would pass according to the method of distribution of her assets which she specified. If she did not leave a will, then the proceeds should pass by the rules of intestate succession (which would be how the rest of her estate was distributed). If she was one of multiple beneficiaries, then her portion of the proceeds would pas in this manner.

I'm not a Pennsylvania attorney, but it may be that in your locale unclaimed insurance proceeds "escheat" (become the property of the State) after a certain amount of time. It is also possible that an insurance carrier will have a defense against paying benefits so long after the death of the policyholder, although their ability to take such a position would probably be weakened if they were unaware of your mother's death.

Also, it may well be that the insurance company is based in another state, in which case you might find that a different set of rules apply.

The most important source of information on your question, however, will be the language of the policy. It may spell out specific answers to all of these questions.

You have an interesting problem in that you seem to be unable to determine who the actual beneficiary is. If the company won't give you this information, try contacting the executor of your mother's estate to see if the company will listen to them.

You should consult with a local attorney to find out what the applicable law is in your jurisdiction.

Death benefit proceeds

Seems like the thing to do is file those claim forms ASAP, and if the only policy beneficiary that you know of has died, then the claim should be filed by your mother's estate.

If the insurance company is willing to pay on the policy, that's great. They might well have a statute of limitations defense, so I might not press too hard about the interest.

But be candid about everything. PA has serious laws about making false statements on insurance claims. So the claim should be made by the executor of the mother's estate, and it should be clearly disclosed that you don't know the policy terms for a contingent beneficiary, if any.

The above does not constitute legal opinion and is offered for the purposes of discussion only. The law differs in every jurisdiction, and you should not rely on any opinion except that of an attorney you have retained, who has a professional duty to advise you after being fully informed of all the pertinent facts and who is familiar with the applicable law.