Estate of Grigg, In re

• Decision Date: 15 September 1989
• Docket Number: No. 1-87-3809,1-87-3809
• Citation: 189 Ill.App.3d 5,545 N.E.2d 160
• Parties: , 136 Ill.Dec. 636 In re ESTATE OF Allen M. GRIGG (Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, Petitioner, v. Carol A. Grigg, individually and as administrator of the Estate of Allen M. Grigg, et al., Respondents (Carol A. Grigg, individually and as administrator of the Estate of Allen M. Grigg, and as legal guardian of the minor children of Allen M. Grigg, Cross-Plaintiff and Appellant; Barbara L. Bronson, Cross-Defendant and Appellee).).
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 160

545 N.E.2d 160

189 Ill.App.3d 5, 136 Ill.Dec. 636

In re ESTATE OF Allen M. GRIGG (Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, Petitioner, v. Carol A. Grigg individually and as administrator of the Estate of Allen M Grigg, et al., Respondents (Carol A. Grigg, individually and as administrator of the Estate of Allen M. Grigg, and as legal guardian of the minor children of Allen M. Grigg Cross-Plaintiff and Appellant; Barbara L. Bronson Cross-Defendant and Appellee).).

No. 1-87-3809.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Sixth Division.

Sept. 15, 1989.

Mason D. Sullivan, Chicago, for cross-plaintiff and appellant.

Dabrowski & McGrath, Chicago, for cross-defendant and appellee.

Presiding Justice EGAN delivered the opinion of the court:

The issue in this case is whether the proceeds of a life insurance policy, payable to someone not related to or dependent on the deceased, may be reached to pay the deceased's funeral expenses, the expenses incurred in the administration of the estate, the widow and child's award and the widow's statutory share. The trial judge ruled that they could not; and the petitioner, who concedes that the proceeds of the policy are not assets of the estate, nonetheless insists that the judge erred.

The decedent, Allen M. Grigg, started working for R.G. Dickenson & Company in September 1985; and took out a term life insurance policy through the company with Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company (Mutual) in the amount of $50,000. He designated Barbara Bronson (Bronson) as the beneficiary. He indicated in his application for the policy that he was divorced; but he was not.

On January 26, 1986, the decedent died intestate survived by his widow, Carol A. Grigg, (Grigg) and two minor children. Grigg and the decedent had married on June 15, 1963, and lived together until November 4, 1983, when he left her and his children. Sometime after the decedent left his family, he started living with Bronson. Upon his death, Mutual was obligated to pay Bronson $50,000 as the proceeds of the life insurance policy; however, Mutual received claims for the proceeds from various parties.

Grigg was appointed administrator of the estate, which is insolvent, and she filed a citation proceeding to discover and recover assets from Mutual. Mutual filed an interpleader action against Bronson and the estate, deposited the policy proceeds and was dismissed from the suit. Grigg, as administrator, filed an action seeking a determination that Bronson was not a proper beneficiary. That case was decided in Bronson's favor; and that decision is not in issue here.

Bronson then filed a motion to compel the distribution of the deposited funds. Grigg filed a response and alleged that five claims had been made against the estate: by Wieboldt and Visa, which were for debts incurred by the decedent, by Cuneo Hospital for medical services rendered to the decedent, by Smith Funeral Homes for funeral expenses and by the Chicago Law Bulletin for publishing notices on behalf of the estate. Grigg asked that those claims be paid from the insurance proceeds and also asked that the child and widow's award and the widow's statutory share be paid from the proceeds. The judge ruled that the Wieboldt, Visa and Cuneo Hospital claims, totalling $1,890 be paid from the insurance proceeds, reasoning that they were debts incurred by the decedent himself. He denied all other claims on the ground that those claims may be paid only from estate assets and the insurance proceeds were not estate assets.

Bronson did not file a cross-appeal; but she asked in her brief that we modify the judgment by reversing that part of the order requiring her to pay for the debts incurred by the decedent. When the absence of the cross-appeal was called to the attention of Bronson's attorney during oral argument, he conceded that the absence of the cross-appeal prevented us from considering any error urged by Bronson. (See N.F.L. Properties v. Dallas Cap & Emblem Manufacturing, Inc. (1975), 26 Ill.App.3d 820, 327 N.E.2d 247.) Therefore, we will not decide whether the trial judge's order to pay the claims of Wieboldt, Visa and Cuneo Hospital was correct.

The linchpin of the petitioner's argument is section 238 of the Illinois Insurance Code (Ill.Rev.Stat.1987, ch. 73, par. 850) which is as follows:

"All proceeds payable because of the death of the insured and the aggregate net cash value of any or all life and endowment policies and annuity contracts payable to a wife or husband of the insured, or to a child, parent or other person dependent upon the insured, whether the power to change the beneficiary is reserved to the insured or not, and whether the insured or his estate is a contingent beneficiary or not, shall be exempt from execution, attachment, garnishment or other process, for the debts or liabilities of the...