Recent case of betrayal provides lesson for advisors on the importance of providing help for young beneficiaries.
Recent case of betrayal provides lesson for advisors on the importance of providing help for young beneficiaries.
‘My dad named all five of us on the policy, trusting the money would be divided five ways,” said 23-year-old UK resident Sasha Cochrane. “That money was supposed to -safeguard our future. Instead, they kept it for themselves.”
The “they” in this instance were Cochrane’s considerably older half-sisters Amanda and Claire. The younger Cochrane’s troubles began in 2011 when her father Peter died tragically after falling off scaffolding he was working on.
Unfortunately, Peter Cochrane died without a will.
The father of five had a life insurance policy that paid out the equivalent of $228,000. Nineteen at the time, Sasha Cochrane turned to her two older half-sisters who were both more than 10 years older for guidance.
A year after Peter Cochrane died, Sasha Cochrane went to the insurance company to inquire when the claim would be paid out. She was told that the funds had been paid to Amanda and Claire just two weeks earlier.
When Sasha Cochrane spoke to her two half-sisters she was told that much of the funds had already been spoken for. Also left out in the cold were Sasha Cochrane’s two younger sisters.
Planning to take her two half-sisters to court, Sasha Cochrane’s sad tale is a lesson to insurance advisors to pay more attention to “all” the beneficiaries of a life insurance policy, especially the younger ones.
“They offered to give the three of us £10,000 [$20,000] each,” said Sasha Cochrane. “Obviously £10,000 is a lot of money, but considering they were intending to keep £45,000 [$86,000] each for themselves it made no sense.”
By Will Ashworth
‘My dad named all five of us on the policy, trusting the money would be divided five ways,” said 23-year-old UK resident Sasha Cochrane. “That money was supposed to -safeguard our future. Instead, they kept it for themselves.”
The “they” in this instance were Cochrane’s considerably older half-sisters Amanda and Claire. The younger Cochrane’s troubles began in 2011 when her father Peter died tragically after falling off scaffolding he was working on.
Unfortunately, Peter Cochrane died without a will.
The father of five had a life insurance policy that paid out the equivalent of $228,000. Nineteen at the time, Sasha Cochrane turned to her two older half-sisters who were both more than 10 years older for guidance.
A year after Peter Cochrane died, Sasha Cochrane went to the insurance company to inquire when the claim would be paid out. She was told that the funds had been paid to Amanda and Claire just two weeks earlier.
When Sasha Cochrane spoke to her two half-sisters she was told that much of the funds had already been spoken for. Also left out in the cold were Sasha Cochrane’s two younger sisters.
Planning to take her two half-sisters to court, Sasha Cochrane’s sad tale is a lesson to insurance advisors to pay more attention to “all” the beneficiaries of a life insurance policy, especially the younger ones.
“They offered to give the three of us £10,000 [$20,000] each,” said Sasha Cochrane. “Obviously £10,000 is a lot of money, but considering they were intending to keep £45,000 [$86,000] each for themselves it made no sense.”
By Will Ashworth
