Which statement is NOT correct regarding Joe's receipt of Jack's life insurance proceeds after killing Jack?

Which statement is NOT correct regarding Joe's receipt of Jack's life insurance proceeds after killing Jack?

• A. The killing must be both intentional and wrongful for Joe to be excluded from receiving the proceeds.
• B. Joe may be able to collect the proceeds if it can be established that the killing was accidental.
• C. If Joe can show that he acted in self-defense, he can still collect the proceeds.
• D. A finding that Joe was insane at the time of the killing has no bearing on his disqualification from receiving the proceeds.

Answer: (A)

The main concept here is the slayer statute: a beneficiary who intentionally causes the insured’s death is typically barred from receiving the life insurance proceeds. The statement in question is not correct because it wrongly posits that the killing must be both intentional and wrongful to exclude the beneficiary. In practice, intent to kill is the key factor; a justifiable killing (such as self-defense) may not trigger disqualification, and an accidental killing could still leave the beneficiary able to collect in some circumstances. Insanity at the time of the killing generally does not automatically change the outcome of the disqualification, which is why other statements align more closely with how these rules are viewed in exam-style questions.

The main concept here is the slayer statute: a beneficiary who intentionally causes the insured’s death is typically barred from receiving the life insurance proceeds. The statement in question is not correct because it wrongly posits that the killing must be both intentional and wrongful to exclude the beneficiary. In practice, intent to kill is the key factor; a justifiable killing (such as self-defense) may not trigger disqualification, and an accidental killing could still leave the beneficiary able to collect in some circumstances. Insanity at the time of the killing generally does not automatically change the outcome of the disqualification, which is why other statements align more closely with how these rules are viewed in exam-style questions.