Life insurance already paid out
<p>I have two step children in California and my wife died. We had a company paid free life insurance that I went ahead and claimed. I was the only beneficiary on the policy. The claim was approved and a check was sent to me. Now the children's dad is saying I need to give the kids half or more even though they were not on the policy. Do they have any legal claim here or is it all mine to give as I want?</p>

<p>What he means is you ought to give <em>him</em> the money. If it's not in the policy, the kids have no claim to the life insurance. You probably have to keep looking after them by law (as a decent person would anyway), and that's where the life insurance money will help you.</p>
<p>Any money you give to the kids, the father may have rights to that, so you don't do that. You pay their food, their clothing, their holidays, their school, their university, anything where he can't get his hands on the money.</p>
<p>PS. Life insurances handle large amounts of money every day. They have a copy of the policy. If your children had any rights to money, the life insurance company wouldn't have paid to you.</p>

united-states california insurance children