5 ways to challenged the beneficiary on a Florida life insurance policy.

Were you suprised to find out that you were not the listed beneficiary of a loved  one’s Florida Life Insurance Policy? If so, you may be able to challenge the validity of the listed beneficiary of a life insurance policy after the death of the insured.

Here are five common ways that plaintiffs challenge the validity of a listed beneficiary:

1. Forgery. This is the easiest and most straightforward way in which to challenge the life insurance beneficiary designation. A scam artist obtains a form to change the beneficiary designation and simply forges the signature of the policy owner.  In this instance the change is of course null and void. However, the forgery has to be blatant to be successful. We have seen numerous instances where potential litigants insist that a signature is a forgery, but where it is not so obvious to the courts. In that case there may need to be more evidence of forgery.
2. Lack of Capacity. In order for there to be a valid change to a beneficiary designation on a life insurance policy, the owner of the life insurance policy must have the mental capacity to make the change. If the owner of the policy did not have capacity, the change to the beneficiary designation can be successfully challenged.  However, a plaintiff in this case will typically need some proof of a prior medical diagnosis ofdementia or a similar disease.
3. Undue Influence/Fraud/Trickery. A change to the beneficiary designation can be challenged if undue influence, fraud, or trickery can be proven. This is the category where we see the largest number of potential challenges to Florida life insurance beneficiary changes. In a typical case of undue influence, the life insurance policy is intended to be left in equal shares to the owner’s children. But due to the unscrupulous acts of one of the children, that child, through coercion, is able to force the owner to make a change.
4. Divorce. Even if the beneficiary designation lists an ex-spouse as the beneficiary, the laws of many states will treat the ex-spouse as if he or she had already passed away, nullifying the beneficiary designation. For example, Florida Probate Code Section 732.703 cancels many of the beneficiary designations on non-probate assets such aslife insurance that still name the ex-spouse as the beneficiary.
5. Unjust Enrichment. In rare situations, if someone pays of the premiums on the life insurance policy and can show that they were the intended beneficiary of the policy but for some reason is not, the law of unjust enrichment can assign the death benefits to the person who paid for the policy. 

Palm Beach probate litigation attorneys know that all too often, the insured person of a life insurance policy makes mistakes, either accidentally, through carelessness, or upon the misrepresentation of others.  The best way to protect your Florida inheritence is to make sure that your Florida estate planning documents are checked and updated on a regular basis.

See http://www.pankauskilawfirm.com/ for videos and information on Wills in Florida, Florida Trust Law, Estate Planning, and Estate Administration in Florida.