Generally speaking, no. Life insurance death benefits are paid out directly from the insurer to the beneficiaries, without going through probate. This is because life insurance is considered separate from the policyholder’s estate, such that it is not subject to debt collection, payment of the decedent’s bills, or taxation.
Power of attorney for insurance purposes can mean any of several different things. Renowned national life insurance attorney Chad G. Boonswang explains everything you need to know about power of attorney in life insurance.
You’ve probably heard of the Contestability Period, which is the two years following the purchase of life insurance during which a life insurance company can contest the beneficiary’s rights to the death benefit due to a misstatement or omission on a policyholder’s application for life insurance and medical questionnaire.
A life insurance policy may count as a marital asset, depending on what law or laws control the policy. Whether or not it is a marital asset, an insurance policy will be subject to both federal and state insurance law as well as community property law.
Life insurance interpleaders are the legal actions filed when there is a dispute over who should be the beneficiary and receive the death benefit.
Typically accidental death and dismemberment insurance (AD&D) is available as a rider to a life insurance policy or a health insurance policy. An AD&D rider covers the unintentional dismemberment or death of the owner of the policy. It is also referred to as a “double indemnity rider.”
Most life insurance policies contain a “war exclusion” clause, which specifically excludes coverage for acts of war like:
Is life insurance valid if you move abroad? Once a person purchases a life insurance policy, one naturally presumes that coverage is in effect and return to their daily lives as such. Just like any other legal agreement, however, insurance policies contain a lot of fine print that consumers often do not read.
When someone purchases life insurance, he or she must have an “insurable interest” in the insured. This means that the policyholder, i.e. the person who owns the policy and names the beneficiary or beneficiaries, will suffer financial loss if the insured dies unexpectedly. It is important to remember that this sort of relationship only needs…
