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Policy Not Honored
My question involves insurance law for the state of: New Jersey
My step father passed away recently and he had no will or estate :( He did have an insurance policy that was supposed to be split 3 ways between my brother, sister, and his current wife. Apparently, he never signed the paperwork and his wife ended up getting all of the insurance policy proceeds. She's being a bit funky suddenly and wants to "take care of things" before she gives my siblings their rightful due....how she sees fit no less (her words).
We spoke with his job, who had been constantly advising that the policy was to be split 33/33/34. The actual insurance company noticed the fact that he had never signed the paperwork. His job's representative had actually "witnessed" the change in his policy 13 years ago which was funny enough to add the new wife. The job is stating that there is nothing that they can do although they are the ones that never noticed the error.
Do my siblings have any legal recourse with the wife or with the federal employer to obtain what their father wanted them to have?
Thank you for your time.
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Re: Policy Not Honored
If your stepfather did not change his beneficiary, and the designated beneficiary is not interested in giving money to those who claim to have been his intended beneficiary, there's usually not much that can be done. The exceptions tend to be dependent upon contract, state law (potentially either or both the laws of the state in which the insurance company is situated and the laws of the state in which the decedent was domiciled), and the availability and content of any partially completed or unsubmitted change of beneficiary forms. The most usual exception will be when a form was completed and, for some reason, either not submitted or improperly submitted; but again that's going to depend on the facts, contract, and state law. Your brother and sister need to talk to a probate lawyer.
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Re: Policy Not Honored
The form was filled out but he neglected to sign it. The strange part is that his job's benefits departement signed and witnessed the paperwork as valid. He became ill 2 years ago, and sent the request to verify his policy and was told that it was valid at 33/33/34 for his children and wife even after he had passed away. It was the insurance company that recognized that the paperwork was not signed and therefore invalid. They immediately distributed the full 100% to a money market account in the wife's name.
Thank you for your input. I will tell them to contact a probate lawyer.