Natalie Bowes, Head of Death Benefits at ICTS Death Benefit Services
In this 3 part series of articles, I wanted to shed some light on the process behind investigating death benefit cases and determining a fair and equitable distribution of benefits. Mostly, cases are fairly straight forward, but it’s the not so straightforward cases that require particular care and diligence. I’ve shared such cases with you in Part 1 of this series, and in future parts, I’ll unpack some practical experiences, principles and procedures to follow in investigating death benefit cases.
Part 1
At ICTS Death Benefit Services we have had to deal with many different types of death cases. Each case can vary significantly based on the circumstances, and the process can be sensitive due to the emotional and financial implications involved.
Examples of circumstances that are not normally experienced:
Deceased members with more than one spouse – A person can have more than one customary marriage but cannot have a civil marriage and customary marriage
– In cases like this the Trustees need to make a decision as to how to treat spouses i.e. spouse/life partner/girlfriend. One of our cases involved a civil spouse who was separated but not divorced from the deceased and then the deceased married customarily. The deceased did not live with either spouse because of employment. There was a spousal pension to be paid to the spouse of the deceased and the Trustees had difficulty as both spouses believed that they were entitled to the spousal pension. Because the customary marriage occurred after the civil marriage and even though the deceased was separated, the civil spouse receives the spousal pension.
Living arrangements of the deceased if he has multiple customary spouses
– In some cases the deceased could have multiple spouses where the living arrangements are out of the norm.
In one of our cases the deceased had 2 spouses, had jointly owned properties with both spouses and resided between his two jointly owned properties. The spouses knew about each other and the deceased alternated between the properties.
In another case, the deceased had 4 customary spouses and they all lived on the same property. 2 spouses resided with their children in one house and the other 2 spouses resided with their children in separate houses on the property.
Deceased members who have been murdered by a family member
– If an unnatural death occurs and the case is still under investigation, family members will more often than not state that ‘no family members were implicated’. In some cases trustees withhold a percentage of the benefit until the murder investigation has been finalised.
One of our cases involved a father who shot and killed his son (the deceased member). The deceased lived with his parents at date of death so the parents were regarded as dependents as the deceased contributed to the household. The father was jailed whilst the case was being investigated. It was found that the father acted under self-defence and he was released and received a portion of the benefit.
In another case, the deceased was stabbed to death by his sibling. The sibling advised that it was an accident. The sibling was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years’ probation. No benefit allocation was made to the sibling.
Deceased members who have children out of wedlock and paternity tests need to be conducted
– Paternity tests are expensive and laboratories are few and far between. Beneficiaries have difficulty in travelling to these laboratories and the outcome of the paternity tests take time. This could hold up the payment process as the case cannot be fully finalised. In some cases trustees may withhold a percentage of the benefit.
End of Part 1. Part 2 will focus on some common practical experiences that investigators might encounter whilst conducting a death benefit investigation.
ENDS
