Q: How to claim my mothers life insurance the fastest? Been in probate for years I’m only 20 with no family in the US left
My mother and father passed away two days apart my mother first then my father. My mother had a will and setup an irrevocable trust. My mother’s life insurance policy listed my father as primary beneficiary but also listed my grandmother as (contingent beneficiary) she lives in Israel and is not a US citizen. If she claims the money from the policy like my probate lawyer suggested and deposits it in her bank account in her country and then should wire transfer the money to my sister and I in the US...this is option 1 sounds complicated,my aunt said the bank in Israel will ask many questions when she tries to deposit the funds not sure why when she is entitled to it.
Option 2 is having her disclaim the funds which will then move forward in the terms of the trust my mon created preventing the money to be used until 35 by my sister and I. The trustee of the trust is my UNCLE in ISRAEL who is not allowed back in the US. He would probably have to sign off for us to receive the funds early
A: An attorney in the state where this took place would need to review the matter, the Will and Trust would need to be reviewed, why the probate is dragging on for years would also need to be explained. Life insurance passes to the named beneficiary outside of probate if there is a named beneficiary, the fact that your father passed away so close to your mom is potentially a problem with respect to survivor periods. There is a lot that would need to be reviewed and addressed and that is why you have your attorney that has been working on this available (hopefully), it is impossible to guess all the small details without having all the information right in front of you, that would entail time and costs to review what the current attorney is already doing. You would need to look at your mom's will and her Trust, your father's will and where those assets went and where did the life insurance go since your dad passed away so closely to your mom, it sounds like it went to your grandmother. You would need to follow through on both probates based on who the named petitioner/ personal representative in each probate was when it was done. A review of the Wills would be useful because you could see who the named beneficiaries are and how the assets should be distributed, whether to the Trust, outright or by other means.
Nina Whitehurst agrees with this answer
A: I agree with both of my colleagues and would add that your uncle can resign as trustee and your attorney can petition the court to appoint a replacement trustee.
Phillip William Gunthert agrees with this answer
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