Kadetskaya Law Firm represented children of an insured who was covered under a group life insurance policy. The children came to us after unsuccessfully trying to obtain payment from the insurance company. The clients’ parents were divorced and, as part of the divorce, their father was ordered by court to maintain his employer-provided life insurance coverage and name his two children as sole beneficiaries on the policy.

He complied with the court order and named his two children beneficiaries on his life insurance plan. However, several years later he changed the beneficiary designation and named his then-girlfriend as the sole primary beneficiary. The insurance company was ready to make a payment to the insured’s girlfriend and denied the children’s claims.

Before coming to us for help, the children filed their own appeal and despite providing the insurance company with a copy of the divorce decree and court order, the insurer insisted on denying their claim. We filed a legal appeal and argued that under the law, the court order cannot be ignored and should be followed by the insurer. The case was settled to the satisfaction of our clients.