Beneficiaries are typically categorized as primary and contingent. A primary beneficiary is entitled to the proceeds of the policy upon the death of the insured, but such rights expire if he or she dies before the insured. A contingent (or secondary) beneficiary is entitled to the policy proceeds if the primary beneficiary has predeceased the insured. A common scenario involves an annuity in which the beneficary dies before the final sum is paid, and the rest paid to a contingent beneficiary. It is smart to have several levels of contingent beneficiaries.
Read about can a beneficiary be changed after death
A beneficiary can either be specific - a person identified by name and relationship - or a class designation - the naming of a group of individuals such as the children of the insured. While the naming of specific beneficiaries is usually definite, unintended complications may arise when designating classes of beneficiaries.
If you consider naming your children as beneficiaries, think about whether you want to include adopted or stepchildren.
When the insured planned for the proceeds of her life insurance policy to be paid to her three children or her grandchildren and two children predeceased the insured, with one deceased child leaving four children and the other child leaving no children, the distribution of the proceeds may appear tricky. The distribution in such cases will be governed by state intestacy laws and may vary from state to state.
Per capitala and per stirpes are words you may have seen. Per stirpes means according to the family tree, and per capita means per heads. In the hypothetical above, under a per stirpes distribution, the surviving child would get one-half of the proceeds and the deceased child's surviving children (the other branch) would divide the remaining half among themselves. Under a per capita distribution, the surviving child and the deceased child's four children would each receive one-fifth of the proceeds. There might be complications if any of the deceased child's children are still minors when the surviving child dies and legal guardians have not been appointed. If your claim has been delayed or denied, you should speak us today.
Settling any claim for life insurance can overwhelm a person, especially if that person is grieving the loss of someone dear to them. This is the reason why you need an attorney who can be there for you at such a difficult time. Our life attorneys are compassionate and understand exactly what you are going through. In addition, we are going to be with you every step of the way. This will ensure that you have all the necessary support that you require. Our skilled lawyers will enable you to recover what is rightfully yours.
Our firm employs lawyers who have years of experience in handling claims for life insurance. In addition, we work with top insurance firms across the country. This means that your lawyer can be able to sift though confusing procedures and can ask the right questions to obtain information that is necessary to build your case. Your lawyer is also able to read and understand the contract that you signed with your insurance company. The insurance firm that is delaying your claim will also be kept under pressure because your lawyer is aggressive and knows how to use the right legal procedures.
We also understand how insurance firms operate. The tactics that these firms use to frustrate clients are well known to us. This means that we can stop these firms from playing any games and you will get the desired results. We will pursue out of court settlement and if this fails, a lawsuit will be filed before the courts. You should not worry if the case has gone to court because your lawyer has got plenty of courtroom experience. We also boast of a wonderful track record of winning cases for clients.
We offer a free initial evaluation of your claim. If you have a good case, we will ask for some additional information regarding your case. The details will be carefully evaluated and the legal alternatives will be explored. Your case can then be taken up on a contingency basis. This means that you will only be expected to pay legal fees if your case is successful. If your case is successful, you will pay your legal fees out of the money that you have been paid as settlement.