# Life insurance policy
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-insurance-policy/800302
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 31, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-insurance-policy/800302 "2017-10-31T18:22:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Terbr1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terbr1)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-insurance-policy/800302/1 "2017-10-31T18:22:37Z")
My mother just passed away, and she had two life insurance policies through Prudential. The problem is they only filled in the beneficiary on one policy and left the other blank. They said there is nothing they can do. Is this true??? What can I do? Thank you
---
### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-insurance-policy/800302/2 "2017-10-31T18:24:29Z")
Your state’s insurance regulator.
---
### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-insurance-policy/800302/3 "2017-10-31T18:34:44Z")
What do you mean by “nothing they can do”? Absent a specific named beneficiary, they will pay the estate, and the money will go to whoever inherits the estate.
> **[What Happens When There is no Life Insurance Beneficiary | FreeAdvice](https://www.freeadvice.com/legal/what-happens-when-there-is-no-life-insurance-beneficiary/)**
>
> It's the responsibility of the insured to name beneficiaries, and company will pay estate if none are named.
---
### Author:  [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-insurance-policy/800302/4 "2017-10-31T18:38:23Z")
According to this:
[What Happens When There is no Life Insurance Beneficiary](https://law.freeadvice.com/insurance_law/life_insurance_law/beneficiary_life_insurance_policy.htm)
> [@FreeAdvice](#):
>
> Assuming you are talking about individual insurance that the deceased paid for himself, many insureds fail to name beneficiaries for their insurance policies. And if one names no beneficiary, or the named beneficiary dies and there is no “contingent beneficiary” named, the insurance company pays the estate.
The bottom line is that Prudential will pay out on the policy. Whether your mother wanted a particular beneficiary for that particular policy or not, because she never named a beneficiary (or Prudential got sloppy and didn’t record it properly), it’s going to get paid out to her estate, and then be distributed according to the terms of her will (assuming she actually has a will).
Dayum, ninja’d again…
---
### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2017, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-insurance-policy/800302/5 "2017-10-31T18:42:24Z")
And if she doesn’t have a will it’ll be paid out according to the laws of your state.
---
### Author:  [@Terbr1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terbr1)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-insurance-policy/800302/6 "2017-10-31T18:43:33Z")
The only will my parents had was if my father died, she gets everything , and vice versa. She passed first. Does he have to go to probate it get an attorney?
---
### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2017, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-insurance-policy/800302/7 "2017-10-31T18:46:09Z")
The estate will have to be probated, but whether your dad needs an attorney depends on how much money we’re actually talking about. Most states have an accelerated probate process for small estates where there are no controversies.
ETA: It never hurts to get some consultations with probate attorneys. Your state bar association can refer you to some in your area.
---
### Author:  [@Terbr1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terbr1)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2017, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-insurance-policy/800302/8 "2017-10-31T18:47:41Z")
Ok. Thank you
---
### Author:  [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-insurance-policy/800302/9 "2017-10-31T19:17:15Z")
One downside of this is that since the payout enters the estate, it may now be an asset that can be claimed. Usually insurance payouts are not considered part of the estate and a creditor cannot try and get it. Say she owed several thousand dollars on a credit card and had no assets like savings or property. Now the insurance can be claimed by that creditor.
Dennis
---
### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-insurance-policy/800302/10 "2017-10-31T19:54:10Z")
> [@mixdenny](#):
>
> One downside of this is that since the payout enters the estate, it may now be an asset that can be claimed. Usually insurance payouts are not considered part of the estate and a creditor cannot try and get it. Say she owed several thousand dollars on a credit card and had no assets like savings or property. Now the insurance can be claimed by that creditor.
Correct. That’s why you should always name your beneficiary. Probate is a pain in the ass and avoiding it with a good insurance setup and assets with rights of survivorship can save you a lot of grief.
Of course, if the estate is small and there’s no debt and no obnoxious relatives, it’s largely a paperwork hassle.