A death is a severe cut – but insurance companies do not consider that. Anyone who has taken out life insurance should know the consequences of a late message.
Whoever dies often does not only leave grief, but also contracts – including a one Capital life insurance or risk life insurance. This can be good news for relatives: With the death of the insured person, an insurance sum is usually due – often several ten thousand euros. But be careful: if you wait too long to report the death to the insurance company, you can lose the money in the worst case.
In many cases, the deceased person has a certain person in their life insurance Entitled to references entered. This is someone who is supposed to receive the money directly from the insurance in the event of death – regardless of who legally inherits. This can be the current spouse, but also a former partner, a child, a good friend – or a completely strange person. The decisive factor is that the person who is in the policy has in doubt first claim on the money.
From a legal point of view, the heirs enter into the contracts of the deceased. So you also take over the life insurance contract. And that can be an advantage – but only if you are fast: as long as the insurance company has not yet promised the money, the heirs can Promise revoke (more on this below).
- Gift tax: These amounts remain tax -free for donations
- Give away cash: These punishments threaten without any evidence
The money then goes to the estate and is divided under the heirs. But: If the heirs reported the death too late and has already given the insurance to the beneficiary, the revocation is usually no longer possible. Then the heir is left out.
So it depends on who is faster: the insurance company with your message to the person entitled to references – or the heirs with their revocation. And this “race” decides who gets the money. That seems unfair – but is common practice. This is precisely why it is important for the heirs to inform the insurance as soon as possible after death and to check who is mentioned as a beneficiary in the policy.
It is important to note that the “race” is only possible as long as the insurance company has not yet informed the beneficiary and has not yet paid out the sum insured.
A typical case: After a divorce, forgot to change the beneficiary in life insurance. The Federal Court of Justice has decided that the ex-partner still gets the money-even if it is only mentioned as a “spouse” and not by name. Because according to the court, the policyholder usually thinks of the current relationship when the contract is concluded – and not a possible future marriage.
This means that if you do not become active after a separation, you risk that the new partner runs empty. Because after death he would have to revoke the promise of gift towards the ex – if he or she experiences it in good time. And even then, lengthy legal proceedings threaten if, for example, the so -called marriage -related grant is disputed – the question of whether the money was really intended as a gift.
A gift contract can provide clarity for life insurance – and prevent later anger. Because if the policyholder wants a certain person to get the money from the insurance company after his death, it is often not enough to simply enter this person as a beneficiary in the policy.
From a legal point of view, the establishment of a person entitled to references is a kind of gift promise to the death. But this promise is only effective if it either notarized notarized or completed becomes. And this “enforcement” only happens when the insurance officially informs the person entitled to references – and this accepts the gift. Before that, it can be revoked – for example by the heirs.
- Home broadcast: Heirs in advance for children?
- Expensive inheritance: Who pays my debts when I die?
So if you want to be on the safe side that the money actually goes to the desired person, you should In addition to the approval of reference, set up a gift contract. This makes the policyholder’s will unequivocally – and can prevent later disputes with the heirs.
