no will, life insurance

[ravennahp]

My father died at age 55 (2007). My mother and he divorced in 1997 and in the custody papers, my father had full custody of me (12) and my two sisters (6, 5). In a part of the divorce papers, it stated that all life insurance policies are to be left to the three of us. My dad remarried in 2000 and made my stepmother the beneficiary of his 100k life insurance policy.
Upon his death, my step mother receievd the life insurance. I was told that in the state of Ohio (where we reside and he passed) that the spouse gets all of the estate/insurance if there is no will, which my dad didn't have.

I was wondering if the law that the spouse gets everything if there is no will trumps the court order that we all are beneficiaries to the life insurance. Is there a legal claim to which we can file for the money? If so, is there a statute of limitations?

Thank you very much.

 

[dee_dub]

To clarify something, it is not true that in Ohio the surviving spouse gets all of the estate when someone dies without leaving a will. A surviving spouse who is not parent to the deceased's children gets the first $20,000 of the estate plus half of whatever remains. The children divide up the other remaining half between them. Unfortunately this is of little use to you. The proceeds of the insurance policy will pass directly to the designated beneficiary, so they don't form part of your father's estate.

So what you have isn't a contest between the law of intestacy and the court order. You have a contest between upholding the named beneficiary and upholding the court order. I would hazard a guess that naming a beneficiary in violation of a court order will not be respected, but you should have a close look at the court order to see exactly what it says, and take it to an estates lawyer.

There are other ways to challenge the naming of the beneficiary as well. If the designation was fraudulent or was made when your father was incompetent, a court could order the beneficiary changed or removed.

Check with an Ohio lawyer about the limitation period. I would also be worried that the insurance money may be spent if you don't act quickly.

 

[lwpat]

I agree. See an attorney immediately. You should have notifed the insurance company at the time of his death. Now you will have to try to collect from her and that could be a real problem. Everything will depend on the exact wording of the court order and you can get a copy from the clerk of court.