Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Wisconsin

Re: life insurance policy verses will

A life insurance policy is a contract - and it specifies payment on death to named beneficiaries. That life insurance benefit is not a probate asset. In other words the death benefit passes outside of the probate estate governed by a will.

If the will says "I give the proceeds from my life insurance to A" but the insurance policy specifies death benefit payable to B - B gets the benefit.

The only way that probate of the will interacts with life insurance is if the beneficiary in the life insurance policy is the estate. Then the will may ultimately control the destination of the proceeds. This is an uncommon situation � since one of the benefits of passing wealth via life insurance is that it passes outside of probate and does not enter the estate for estate tax purposes.

Contact a Wisconsin licensed attorney and provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances behind your question.

Re: life insurance policy verses will

Life insurance policies are contracts between the owner and the insurance company. Who the owner names as a beneficiary will determine where the proceeds go. The only involvement with a will would occur when the decedent named his estate as his beneficiary on the policy, in which case the proceeds then go through his estate, and thus through his will.