No, you get to choose.
It is the responsibility of the person holding the life insurance policy to keep the beneficiary data updated as necessary. In the scenario in the question, the ex girlfriend was listed as the beneficiary ... and will be awarded the proceeds from the policy. Unfortunately, there is little the spouse can do to stop that. The beneficiary designation is binding and will hold up in a court of law.
if someone died and left an insurance policy and named me beneficiary how can i find out
If you are the sole beneficiary, no, your siblings have no right to the benefits.
No. The proceeds will be paid to the named beneficiary.
Only the beneficiary has claim to the life insurance. They were put as the beneficiary for a reason. I would see if there is a will which states who gets what. Most people leave it to one person(whome they trust completely), then leave it up to that person to designate who gets what. More than likely, once the funeral is paid for as well as the debt the deceased might have left, there might be nothing left.
Unless the ex husband changed the beneficiary to someone else, then the insurance money goes to her. It is not really an issue of relationship, but rather the person named is the one who gets it.
I am not an expert but have been involved in my dad's estate. If you are a listed beneficiary on the life insurance policy, it is your money. Unless you are the spouse. Debt does not have to be paid by the beneficiaries. My dad's left over $30,000 in debt. He had a $30,000 life insurance policy that had named beneficiaries. We got the insurance policy and did not have to pay for the debt. Check your state's policy. Go to a free law clinic and verify this info. Good Luck!
The proceeds of a life insurance policy are paid to the designated beneficiary.He was the beneficiary of a series of fortunate incidents, which left him a very wealthy man.
If she is the beneficiary, then she must make that decision.
Most life insurance policies have a primary and secondary beneficiary. If the primary signs away all their present and future rights to the benefits then it will be left to the secondary beneficiary. If there is no secondary beneficiary or the secondary beneficiary is deceased the money would be left to the estate of the insured and subject to probate. This would place the funds subject to estate taxes if the estate is large enough. As a matter of full disclosure, I own and operate a small Independent Insurance Agency for the past 22 years and worked as an agent for direct writers for 3 years prior to that.
It is up to the executor of the will to keep taxes, insurance etc. current.
Benefits paid from an insurance policy are separate from property that is left in a will. With an insurance policy, it is paid to the named beneficiary. That is not controlled by the wording of a will.