Who is the recipient of a life insurance policy when the policy holder and beneficiary are deceased?

Question

Both policy holder and beneficiary had separate wills that name the same people as heirs.

Answer 1

Normally, there is a contingent beneficiary.  If there is no living beneficiary, then the language of the policy will likely determine the disposition of the benefits.

Answer 2

Depends on state law & who died first and how long one survived the other.  Best run it by a lawyer. Generally the money would revert to the person's estate & would be decided by inheritance laws.

Answer 3

If there are not living beneficiaries the insurance would then be paid to the estate. If there is no will your states estate & probate laws will determine how the proceeds are paid down.

You can look up your state here

http://estate.findlaw.com/estate-plannin...

Answer 4

Life insurance procedes are NOT distributed via will - at least, not directly.

If everyone is deceased, the money normally reverts to the estate of the insured, to be distributed according to their will as part of the assets (thus making it subject to estate taxes), or the probate judge.