A married couple are involved in a motor accident, in which the wife is
killed. The husband is her sole heir. He's at least partly responsible for
the
accident and hence for her death. He causes her estate to sue himself for
wrongful death with the expectation that his liability insurance will pay a
claim if he is found responsible. The proceeds would go to her estate and
thus
to him. If the scheme pans out, the insurance policy will bring extra money
into
the equation, so it's not just a matter of moving money from one pocket to
the other.

The lawyer handling the probate seems to consider this a perfectly normal
course of action in the circumstances. Can that really be so?

Opinions?

....Robert

Well, lawyers think murderers going free is alright too.





"If life were like a box of chocolates, everyone would be black and expire in 2
years."

On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 03:41:20 GMT, "Robert Noble"
<robertnoble@comcast.net> wrote:
A married couple are involved in a motor accident, in which the wife iskilled. The husband is her sole heir. He's at least partly responsible fortheaccident and hence for her death. He causes her estate to sue himself forwrongful death with the expectation that his liability insurance will pay aclaim if he is found responsible. The proceeds would go to her estate andthusto him. If the scheme pans out, the insurance policy will bring extra moneyintothe equation, so it's not just a matter of moving money from one pocket tothe other.The lawyer handling the probate seems to consider this a perfectly normalcourse of action in the circumstances. Can that really be so?

Depends on the state.

Some states still recognize inter-spousal immunity from suits, but
others allow one spouse to sue the other for exactly the reason you
describe: In order to collect the insurance proceeds.


**Dan Evans
**I post information, not advice.

"Robert Noble" <robertnoble@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:AfnOb.76265$sv6.175861@attbi_s52... A married couple are involved in a motor accident, in which the wife is killed. The husband is her sole heir. He's at least partly responsible for the accident and hence for her death. He causes her estate to sue himself for wrongful death with the expectation that his liability insurance will pay
a claim if he is found responsible. The proceeds would go to her estate and thus to him. If the scheme pans out, the insurance policy will bring extra
money into the equation, so it's not just a matter of moving money from one pocket
to the other. The lawyer handling the probate seems to consider this a perfectly normal course of action in the circumstances. Can that really be so?

Yes. The man is not suing himself. The woman's estate is suing the man.

McGyver

Depends on the state. Some states still recognize inter-spousal immunity from suits, but others allow one spouse to sue the other for exactly the reason you describe: In order to collect the insurance proceeds.


And some states don't have interspousal immunity, but do allow or require
insurance companies to exclude coverage for interspousal lawsuits.

It depends on the state. Some don't allow this type of action.

--

Brett

************************************************** ***************
* Personal Injury/Malpractice Bankruptcy *
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* BRETT WEISS, P.C. *
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* *
* Small Business Estates & Estate Planning *
************************************************** ***************

The Small Print: This response is for discussion purposes only. It isn't
meant to be legal advice and you shouldn't treat it as such. If you want
legal advice, speak with a local lawyer familiar with your state's laws who
can review *all* of the facts and the law applicable to your situation.
************************************************** ***************

"Robert Noble" <robertnoble@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:AfnOb.76265$sv6.175861@attbi_s52... A married couple are involved in a motor accident, in which the wife is killed. The husband is her sole heir. He's at least partly responsible for the accident and hence for her death. He causes her estate to sue himself for wrongful death with the expectation that his liability insurance will pay
a claim if he is found responsible. The proceeds would go to her estate and thus to him. If the scheme pans out, the insurance policy will bring extra
money into the equation, so it's not just a matter of moving money from one pocket
to the other. The lawyer handling the probate seems to consider this a perfectly normal course of action in the circumstances. Can that really be so? Opinions? ...Robert