Justin Ross Harris, a Georgia resident accused of leaving his 22-month-old son, Cooper, to die inside a hot car for several hours, has instructed his family to claim his child’s two life insurance policies, each worth $27,000.
Cooper’s two life insurance policies remain a point of contention. Will the proceeds from his policies be distributed to his family? Most likely not.
In the 2014 death of his son, Cooper, Harris was found guilty of murder by a Georgia jury. He was accused of purposefully leaving his infant son in a hot car for seven hours. Harris was found guilty of two counts of cruelty to children and three counts of sexting lewd material with two underage girls, in addition to three counts of murder.
“This is one of those occasions where actions speak louder than words,” Cobb County Assistant District Attorney Chuck Boring said after the verdict. “He has malice in his heart, absolutely.”
His ex-wife still supports her ex-husband.
In most cases, an investigation will be conducted until a conviction is obtained. Even if a person is not charged with a crime, the insurer is not required to pay. If there is strong evidence of neglect and this type of behavior caused the insured’s death, the company may refuse to pay the beneficiary.
The slayer rule states that a murderer cannot retain a property interest in his victim’s estate, which effectively disqualifies the murderer from receiving property from the victim’s estate.
Slayer statutes, as they are known, have been established in 41 states, but the specifics vary by state. Furthermore, states have the first year or two of contestability after purchasing the policy to investigate any issues of misrepresentation.
Georgia, for example, provides two years to contest and evaluate concerns.
However, if there is a second beneficiary, known as a contingent, who is not involved in the neglect, the life insurance proceeds can be distributed to that person. When several people are involved in a plot to harm the insured, insurance companies will sometimes petition the court to determine who will receive the death benefit.
According to insurance experts, purchasing children’s life insurance is uncommon because death benefits typically range from $5,000 to $10,000 – typically enough for funeral expenses. It is occasionally used as a cash advance for children as a savings vehicle over time, but this is not a common purchase.