When a life insurance policy is first issued, the insurance company typically reviews the beneficiary designations to make sure that they are properly and clearly designated. However, for various reasons, an owner of an insurance policy may seek to change the beneficiary designations after the policy is issued. Sometimes, the change of beneficiary form is not filled out correctly. For instance, the owner may:

Fail to properly assign beneficiaries as primary or contingent.
Fail to properly assign percentages of the death benefit so that the total percentage equals 100%.
Fail to properly identify the beneficiaries by using incorrect names or relationships.
Fail to respond to an insurance company when it has questions concerning how the change of beneficiary form was completed.

When there are mistakes on the change of beneficiary form, disputes may arise among the beneficiaries of the policy after the owner passes away. The insurance company is often compelled to file a lawsuit against the beneficiaries (known as an interpleader complaint) and deposit the life insurance death benefits with a court. A court must then determine who is entitled to the death benefits. The change of beneficiary form and the terms of the policy must be analyzed in light of applicable Florida laws.

Please contact Joel Ewusiak for legal assistance with disputes concerning entitlement to death benefits under life insurance policies.