From our “Ask a Question” Mailbag: Bucks County Disinherited Beneficiary Rights

Most Recently Updated July 14, 2018.

“My father died a resident of Bucks County, Pennsylvania and named his girlfriend as beneficiary of his life insurance policy and pension. I was listed as a secondary beneficiary. Can my father give his life insurance and pension to his girlfriend instead of his children?”

Bucks County Disinherited Beneficiary Rights

Bucks County Disinherited Beneficiary Rights

In Pennsylvania there is no requirement that a father or mother leave their children any part of their probate estate. There is also no requirement that your father had to leave his life insurance to a child. Pensions may have their own sets of rules about where the pension benefits have to pass at death, but these rules usually protect a surviving spouse, not children. You may wish to contact the benefits administrator who oversaw your father’s pension to see if he violated any rules by skipping a child in favor of a girlfriend.

Something Else to Consider

You may want to also see if maybe there was some sort of undue influence involved. There are key elements to prove, however. Is your father vulnerable? Is he incapacitated? If any of these questions are lighting a bulb for you, contact an experienced estate planning and litigation attorney. It is possible that your father may be influenced into doing something that he normally would never do because of his incapacity. 

Further Estate Litigation Questions?

Undue influence concerns are only one of many Estate Litigation issues our firm addresses. Consequently, if you want to learn more, please read my more detailed article, Trust and Estate Litigation All You Need to Know.

In Conclusion: Bucks County Disinherited Beneficiary Rights

I hope that this article was helpful in explaining disinherited beneficiary rights. Further, I included links to even more detailed information on my website. Therefore, please contact me and let me know how I did. Certainly, your comments and questions are welcome!

Let our Litigation Lawyers help walk you through what can be a confusing process. To begin with, call to speak to one of our experienced Litigation Attorneys.  By all means, our lawyers are ready to answer your questions. In fact, feel free to contact our office for a free consultation. Ultimately our goal is to put our 25 years of estate litigation experience to work for you.

Wills, Trusts, Probate, and Estate Litigation It’s All We Do!