Question

Ben purchased a $100,000 life insurance policy naming his wife, Jane, his primary beneficiary and their two children as contingent beneficiaries. Unfortunately, Ben and Jane were killed in an airplane crash, making it impossible to determine who predeceased the other. Who would receive the death benefit under the policy?

1. Jane’s heirs only
2. Jane’s heirs would share the death benefit with the two children
3. The two children only
4. The death benefit would be paid to Ben’s estate and distributed under his last will and testament.

Answer 1

In this situation, since it is impossible to determine who predeceased the other (Ben or Jane), the policy would typically follow the legal principle of "simultaneous death." Under the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act, if two beneficiaries die in such a way that it's impossible to determine who died first, the primary beneficiary (in this case, Jane) is treated as having predeceased the insured (Ben).

As a result, the death benefit would be passed on to the contingent beneficiaries, which are the two children. Therefore, the answer is:

**3. The two children only.**