IHTM20302 - Life Policies: joint life and joint name policies: ascertaining the beneficial interests

To determine what the beneficial interests are, and what claims may have arisen, it is essential to look at the policies themselves. This is important because no two insurance companies use the same form of wording in their policies and most change their wordings frequently.

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Once the beneficial interests have been agreed you will also need to consider the possibility of a lifetime transfer at the time the policy was taken out.

It is also important to determine who paid the premiums as this may shed light on the intentions of the policy holders or, in cases where there is no clear evidence either way, In cases where there is no clear evidence either way, the beneficial interests may be determined by equitable presumptions. For example, where one person pays all of the premiums then there is a presumption that the whole property is held on a resulting trust for the person who paid the premium.