QUESTION
Do I need to probate life insurance if there is no beneficiary and no assets and there are debits?
Asked on Nov 05th, 2019 on Estate Planning - Washington
More details to this question:
My mother passed and has no assets, will, or a personal representative. I am her only child and she has a life insurance policy I am trying to claim and the insurance company gave me a personal property affidavit to sign and notarize, she also has nothing to probate. Can I use this to claim this insurance or does it need to go through probate? The proceeds are less than 10,000. And she does have debit collectors but no way to pay for them, including funeral expenses that I paid out of pocket for. Can I use this process for claiming these funds? And if I can, would I be required to pay the debit collectors? The debits are probably more than the life insurance amount so I am wondering what to do here if it is even worth my trying to claim these funds?
1 ANSWER
2 Awards
If the life insurance policy names you as a beneficiary, you receive it outside of probate.
If it does not name a beneficiary, it passes through probate and must be used to pay your mother's bills in the order dictated by Washington state law.
Answered on Nov 06th, 2019 at 5:05 AM
This is general information. It cannot substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. It is not intended to be legal advice or imply an attorney-client relationship.