Q: I am a Florida resident and my ex husband/ childrens father devastatingly passed away in April. I am the beneficiary &
Our son is secondary beneficiary. I heard I will get denied bc in Florida the divorce immediately deleted you as beneficiary. He wanted to keep this policy to ensure security for the kids if he passed.
A: I am unaware of any statutory provision cancelling your right to be the beneficiary of his life insurance on account of your divorce. Go ahead and apply for the life insurance proceeds. If the insurance company is aware of such a provision, your son will of course get paid instead. If he is a minor, you may be entitled to be named his guardian.
Bruce Alexander Minnick agrees with this answer
A:
If you and your ex had a child or children at the time you were divorced there is a good chance the insurance policy was required or agreed to as a way to continue supporting the child(ren) if the father died. If so, then it was probably issued to you as a "trustee" for the child(ren), in what's called a "Totten trust" (also known as a "poor man's trust").
If you will look at the policy it will say "(Your Name) in trust for (Your Child's Name).
The Totten trust naming you as trustee automatically changes the day the child turns 18 because they are not a child anymore. That instant the policy benefit went to the child.
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