Legal Question in Insurance Law in Wisconsin

my mother quit claimed her wisconsin home to me over 14 years ago. she has recently passed. i paid her homeowners insurance from a joint account we both owned for the past 6 years. the last premium payment i made was from a personal account in my name only. i went to take her name off the policy afteer her passing and they told me i had a refund coming. they sent the refund check in her name which my bank refused to cash. the insurance then told me that they would issue it "to the estate of...". my bank still will not allow me to cash it because there never was an estate of because my mother put me joint on all property and financial accounts. my lawyer said i was the sole beneficiary and didn't need to create an estate of account years ago when i started taking care of my mom and my mothers money as her court appointed guardian and fiduciary. i contacted the insurance agent who told me to send them a copy of the deed with my name on it and i included a copy of my personal check they cashed as payment. he said he would see what he could do about it. they still told the agent they would only make it out to the estate of in order to conform to wisconsin regulations. am i wrong to ask for the money to be returned to me in my name since i paid the bill from my personal checking account and i am the sole beneficiary? am i being played as a fool by the insurance company? they told me since her name is on the policy alone there is nothing i can do now. do i have any options before i think of involving a lawyer? the home is in wisconsin and my primary residence is michigan.


Asked on 9/25/12, 7:59 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
JAY Nixon nixon law offices

I am guessing that your mother probably named her estate as the beneficiary of the insurance policy rather than you. You therefore may have little choice other than to open an estate. You could then be appointed personal representative and cash the check, although you would need to then probate the estate and distribute any remaining money under the laws of intestate succession. This illustrates that need for all children to make sure that there parents receive proper estate planning advice from an experienced attorney as they age (or at least before they die or become mentally incompetent); in which event this problem could have easily been avoided. However, administering a small estate is hardly the end of the world and should be doable at minimal expense with the assistance of an experienced attorney, with attorney fees and court costs probably payable out of the estate. These comments are for public education only, do not make me your attorney, and may not apply to your case, but you are welcome to contact me with further questions at my Racine, WI office at 262-633-3090, or email me at [email protected]. See me on the web at www.jayknixonlaw.com. Also see over fifteen hundred of my past answers arranged by topic at http://www.lawguru.com/answers/search/attorney/jknixon. Web forum answers may contain attorney advertising materials.

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Answered on 9/26/12, 8:55 am


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