Is Life Insurance Part of a Florida Probate Estate?

Whether life insurance is involved in probate depends on the beneficiary designation. When a person other than the insured or the estate is named, the insurer pays that beneficiary directly under the contract, and the proceeds are not part of the probate estate. The general rule for beneficiary designations is covered in whether a beneficiary designation overrides a will.

Section 222.13(1), which applies when a Florida resident dies, adds creditor protection. Proceeds payable to a designated beneficiary inure exclusively to that beneficiary and are exempt from the claims of the insured's creditors, unless the policy or a valid assignment provides otherwise.

The result changes when the estate is the beneficiary. If the policy is payable to the insured or the insured's estate, personal representative, or assigns, the proceeds become an asset of the estate. They are then administered by the personal representative under Florida probate law in the same way as other estate assets.

The same can happen when no beneficiary is designated or the named beneficiary has died, if the policy terms direct payment to the estate in that case. Reviewing beneficiary designations is a common part of probate avoidance strategies.

Section 222.13(2) also provides that payment as directed in that section discharges the insurer from further liability under the policy. Tax treatment of life insurance is a separate question not addressed here.