Life Insurance Beneficiary Dispute Lawyer Missouri

A Missouri beneficiary dispute lawyer can help you deal with the loss of a loved one, and the legal team at Legacy Law Center is here to walk you through your case. Get in touch with us today for a free consultation, and read on to learn more about what to do if you think you should dispute the beneficiaries of a life insurance policy.

Life insurance is important.

Life insurance is an essential safety net for you and your family. This is why when someone sets up a life insurance policy, they have to name their beneficiaries. Beneficiaries are the people who have been named to receive life insurance benefits. Put simply, when the policyholder dies, the beneficiaries receive the payout.

However, sometimes beneficiaries are disputed. This can happen for a number of reasons, and it can lead to a complicated legal battle. All the more reason to get in touch with a Missouri life insurance beneficiary dispute lawyer.

Why are beneficiaries disputed?

In most cases, the beneficiaries named in a life insurance policy are accepted. When the policyholder dies, family and friends accept that the named beneficiaries deserve their share of the insurance payout. However, there are some instances in which a beneficiary – or beneficiaries – are disputed.

Life insurance policies need to be regularly updated. Unfortunately, many people assume that they can be completely hands-off when if comes to their insurance, but if you experience and major life events, it’s important to update your policy accordingly. These events can include divorces, marriages (or remarriages), adoption of children, the list goes on.

A life insurance policy that hasn’t been updated in a long time may be subject to scrutiny. Does it make sense for a spouse to be listed in the policy if the policyholder divorced the spouse decades ago? Does it make sense to completely leave out children because they weren’t born at the time the policy was created? These are all reasons a policy may be disputed.

Of course, a life insurance policy that was updated too recently may raise some eyebrows, also. If a policyholder was suffering from mental or physical incapacitation, their judgment may be called into question when a policy is updated to include a complete stranger to the family. Additionally, if a policy is updated too suddenly and too unusually, it may raise questions about whether or not the policyholder was coerced before his or her death.

Legacy Law Center Can Help

An insurance company can’t change the beneficiaries of a life insurance policy. Instead, the case will have to go to mediation or court – and that means lawyering up if you hope to see a single cent. 

The right lawyer can provide dedicated case management for your beneficiary dispute, and can also walk you through the intricacies of your case. It’s difficult to dispute the beneficiaries of a life insurance policy by yourself, and it always pays to get legal advice you can trust.

Reach out to Legacy Law Center today, and see how a Missouri life insurance beneficiary dispute lawyer from our office can help.

When would you expect beneficiaries to be disputed? 

A Missouri life insurance beneficiary dispute lawyer understands that one of the most complicated issues you can face when it comes to insurance is a beneficiary dispute. Unfortunately, even the smallest of errors can cause issues when it comes to beneficiaries and a life insurance policy. Other exciting, life-changing events can also disrupt insurance policies, such as getting married, having children, adopting, or getting divorced. Below, Legacy Law Center outlines some of the most common times that beneficiary disputes might arise. 

• There is a new marriage. Getting divorced already causes enough problems when it comes to life insurance policies, add to that a new marriage and you have the perfect storm for people getting upset that they are left out or new spouses fighting with old spouses. Although one couple may have gotten divorced, spouse A may have forgotten to take spouse B off of their life insurance policy. If spouse A remarries and does not update their life insurance policy to reflect spouse C as a beneficiary, this could cause problems in the future. 

• There was pressure on the policymaker. If someone argues that there was pressure for the policymaker to make changes to their insurance policy about named beneficiaries, this is enough to bring a case forward. Issues like this often come up when someone is in their later years and may be suffering from illnesses like Alzheimer’s and makes changes to their policy at the last minute. The former beneficiary may argue that they should not have been written out in favor of someone else. Another issue is when nurses or attendants pressure patients to include them as beneficiaries. 

• The policymaker did not have the mental capacity. A trusted Missouri life insurance beneficiary dispute lawyer knows that another common issue is when people believe that the policymaker did not have the mental capacity to make appropriate changes. Without proper witnesses, someone may come forward contesting their beneficiary status. 

What steps should you take to contest a beneficiary? 

If you believe an error occurred and you were left out as a beneficiary or someone was wrongly named as a beneficiary, it is crucial you reach out to a lawyer quickly. In addition to working with a lawyer, they should reach out to the insurance company letting them know that they will be disputing the status of a beneficiary. This will typically put a hold on things regarding paying out the insurance proceeds. While the insurance company would rather wait to pay parties–so that they don’t end up paying the wrong parties–they may also file an interpleader proceeding. 

Get the Help You Need Today For Your Beneficiary Dispute Claim

If you believe someone was wrongfully named as a beneficiary for a loved one’s life insurance policy, it is time to reach out to Legacy Law Center to learn what your next steps are. For more information regarding what else you should do, contact our Missouri life insurance beneficiary dispute lawyer to see what we can do for you.