So I’m working on getting life insurance for me and the misses. Now that we have a 7 month old child this is definitely a priority, frankly we probably should have some already.
I have a question about listing him as a beneficiary. In the case of my untimely demise at the hands of an evil AI intent on world domination, and from which I will save all humanity, the main beneficiary of my policy will be my wife. I’ve also listed my son as a secondary beneficiary in case we both pass away.
My question is: Do I need to put anyone else in there as well, like say, my mother? What I’m worried about is that we die, the money goes to my 1 year old son, and his caretaker will have to deal with some legal wrangling in order to have access to the money.
In other words, will the money be accessible automatically to whoever has custody of him, or do I need to spell this out in some way (A will, within the policy itself, etc)?
I wouldn’t think that - in my mind, a will specifies the disposition of the deceased’s assets. The life insurance payout belongs to the child, not the deceased.
I’m not a lawyer either, but I assume that your state has some sort of default approach to transferring assets and guardianship of minors. If you want to do something other than that, you’d need to set it up ahead of time. Do you have a specific insurance agent you’re working with? I’d start by asking them.
Life insurance is not part of your estate, therefore it is not covered by your will. The proceeds are paid directly to the named beneficiary(ies). If the beneficiary is a minor, **in most states **the insurance company will go to court and ask them to appoint a financial guardian for the minor to whom the proceeds can be paid. The guardian is required to report to the court at some interval on what’s happening with the money.
Ask your agent for a copy of your companys policy on minors and check with your lawyer (the one doing your will) to see if it is suitable for your situation.
Don’t screw around with this to save money. Once you’re dead it can’t be fixed!