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Arkansas- My father died 2 weeks ago with no will, his wife…

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Arkansas- My father died 2...

Arkansas- My father died 2 weeks ago with no will, his wife preceded him in death. My question is about the two annuities that he had. The one with TIAA-CREF said there was a beneficiary named but wouldn't tell us who it was, only that something would be mailed to them. If it was our Mother, I'm assuming it would pass through to the estate, correct? The other annuity informed us over the phone and in a letter, that our Dad elected to have an annuity that ended upon his death with no beneficiary. Does that money not go to the estate anyway? That annuity still has $45,000, does it not go to his estate? Who winds up with the money he worked for all of his life. By the way, the second annuity is set up through Catholic Health Initiatives i believe. Thank You!!

Submitted: 9 years ago.Category: Estate Law

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2/22/2010

Estate Lawyer: Barrister, Attorney replied 9 years ago

Barrister, Attorney

Category: Estate Law

Satisfied Customers: 50,981

Experience: 19 yrs estate law, real estate. Wills/Trusts/Probate

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Hello,

Someone needs to open a probate case in the probate court in the county where he passed. Once this is done the court will name someone Administrator/Personal Representative and that person will have legal authority from the court to get info from the annuities as to any cash surrender value or who has been named beneficiary.

If the beneficiary is your mother, the assets would then pass to whomever her asets passed to when she died.

So someone needs to open a probate case asap.

Thanks.

Matt

Customer reply replied 9 years ago

My Mother had no will either, everything just passed on to my Dad so no named beneficiaries. My two main questions I would like to have answered are (1) is it actually possible or legal for my Dad to have elected to have an annuity end with his death with no one getting the money and (2) If so, is there ANY WAY for his estate to get it? All 4 children are married and are not dependent on it, but it would sure help out. The oldest brother is the administrator of our Dad's estate so he will eventually get the legal authority to ask the questions. Please answer my 2 main questions. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!

Estate Lawyer: Barrister, Attorney replied 9 years ago

1. Yes, this is actually a fairly common type of annuity where it is contemplated that it will be for the support and maintenance of the purchaser only with no payout at the end. Basically if the buyer lives longer than the company predicts through their actuaries, the company loses money. If the person dies earlier than predicted, the company ends up paying out less than predicted and makes up money.

2. If is is a support annuity that terminates on the purchaser's death, then no.

Matt

Customer reply replied 9 years ago

One more reply an i will pay you, so sorry. The main thing is to find out what type of an annuity it was? We know for sure that it's his retirement money from St. Vincent's that he had distributed as an annuity for monthly income. Does that make any difference?

Estate Lawyer: Barrister, Attorney replied 9 years ago

Once your brother is appointed Administrator, he will be able to request this info. Without the actual contract he entered into, we are just shooting in the dark.

Matt

Barrister, Attorney

Category: Estate Law

Satisfied Customers: 50,981

Experience: 19 yrs estate law, real estate. Wills/Trusts/Probate

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