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BENEFICIARIES IN LIFE INSURANCE
As well-known, life assurance is not included in deceased's estate; the beneficiary acquires the right to the payment of allowance iure proprio, in virtue of the insurance agent ‘s commitment to pay the capital at the happening of the event matter of insurance .
We are going to analyse the matter concerning the beneficiary's death:
- a) after the insured party:
- in the event that beneficiary's death occurs after insured party's death, the right to insurance allowance pass on his successors iure ereditario.
Summing up, without an explicit beneficiary's will-form, it will be necessary to apply general disposition about succession and the amount due will be shared according to quotas settled by law in matter of succession.
- b) before the insured party:
- in case of predecease of the beneficiary mentioned in the policy or in the will and excepting the right of revocation of the benefit or different insured party's dispositions, the allowance will be executed in advantage to third party‘s heirs (ex Art. 1412 of the Italian Civil Code).
In this case the criterion for internal sharing of allowance due to predeceased beneficiary's heirs is doubtful; according to one thesis this right will be acquired iure proprio and the principle of equal sharing between parties shall apply;
According to a different thesis the acquiring of the right shall happen iure hereditatis, realising an allowance sharing following the hereditary quotas;
- In the event that the beneficiaries are the legal heirs, insurance allowance will be executed in advantage to parties who can be qualified as legal heirs at the happening of the insured event.
In this case the sharing of due amount has to be done in equal quotas, since the regulation about succession does not apply.
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