- Amount
- $408,000 (court-ordered payment to our client)
- Counsel
- Interpleader Law
- Result for
- The insured's former wife, the named beneficiary, our client
- Case
- Primerica Life Insurance Co. v. McCray-Bey
- Court
- U.S. District Court, District of Maryland
- Docket
- No. 1:21-cv-02656-CCB
- Decided
- October 11, 2023
- Issue
- An estate's slayer-rule claim against a beneficiary who was never charged, resolved by agreement
The insured was covered under a spouse rider on a policy owned by his then-wife, who had named herself as beneficiary. The couple later divorced, and he was then shot and killed. Police told the insurer the former wife was neither a suspect nor cleared, and she was never charged. The insured’s mother, as personal representative of his estate, contested her claim, and the insurer deposited the benefit and was dismissed.
We represented the former wife and argued that the estate had nothing beyond speculation. The case went to mediation, the claimants resolved the dispute by agreement, and the court entered a final judgment ordering the amount shown paid to our client.
What it shows. The party invoking a slayer rule has to prove it, and a beneficiary who has not been charged can reach a court-ordered resolution.
Read the court's order
For a detailed legal summary of this decision, see interpleader.com's decisions library.
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This summary describes the court's ruling; it is not legal advice about any other case.
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