Life insurance benificiary changed to non-family member

Mfdaub

New Member
Jurisdiction
Alabama
Hey everyone,

Unfortunately my mother committed suicide last Thursday. I, as her son and only next-of-kin, am left to clean up the financial mess. I found that she had a current and large life insurance policy. I also found that a live in boyfriend filled out a change of benificiary form in 2013. She supposedly signed it. He has not been her boyfriend for a couple of years now. I know he filled it out because he writes like a child and her hand writing is very neat and very large because she was nearly blind. I have numerous documents now including domestic violence arrest records, and hand written notes that suggest she may have been taken advantage of. She was very mentally ill and her family tried for years to help her unsuccessfully. Is there anything I can do in this situation or is this loser just able to pocket her money an run with no recourse.

Thanks for any help.
 
Hey everyone,
Is there anything I can do in this situation or is this loser just able to pocket her money an run with no recourse.

See an attorney in her state. If you can prove the signature isn't hers then the beneficiary designation would be no good and the payment should go to her estate. But you want to act fast to get something going before he cashes the policy.
 
Even if it is her signature you may be able to prove that she was incompetent or under duress when she signed it.

I have to warn you, though, you'll have to file suit against the life insurance company to get this into court. It will be very complicated and expensive and the chance of success after 6 years are slim.

If you decide not to go that route I suggest that you never let that policy see the light of day and hope that the ex bf is so far out of the picture that he might never think about trying to collect on it.
 
Even if it is her signature you may be able to prove that she was incompetent or under duress when she signed it.

I have to warn you, though, you'll have to file suit against the life insurance company to get this into court. It will be very complicated and expensive and the chance of success after 6 years are slim.

If you mean challenging it on the grounds of incompetence then a lot depends on what evidence of competence the OP has, which we don't know. So it is premature to say how complex or expensive it would be. But it would be easier if the signature can be easily proven to not be hers.
 
Thanks for the advice. I have tons of documents, she was great at saving docs and filing everything. The evidence of her mental disability is very detailed. There were two cases where her grandchildren (not my kids) were removed from her custody by the courts and placed with other members of my family.
 
Thanks for the advice. I have tons of documents, she was great at saving docs and filing everything. The evidence of her mental disability is very detailed. There were two cases where her grandchildren (not my kids) were removed from her custody by the courts and placed with other members of my family.

Just understand that having a mental disability or being unable to care for kids does not automatically mean she was mentally incompetent. The legal standard for competence is not very high. And in order to challenge competency, you'll almost certainly need expert medical testimony, not just the documents you have. And experts don't come cheap. Consult a probate attorney about it.
 
I also found that a live in boyfriend filled out a change of benificiary form in 2013. She supposedly signed it.

Why do you say "supposedly"?

Is there anything I can do in this situation or is this loser just able to pocket her money an run with no recourse.

First of all, it's not and never was her money. It's the insurance company's money. Second, unless you can prove something illegal in connection with the execution of the beneficiary designation, then it will become his money. If she didn't want him to be the beneficiary, then she should have changed the designation after they broke up.
 
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