Does Life Insurance Go Into An Estate? 
That is a great question ! Ordinarily , no it would n't . The process being that when you got the policy , you named a beneficiary , and hopefully a contingent beneficiary , and then kept up with those designations . When you pass , the policy proceeds would go to the named beneficiary . Should the beneficiary have preceded you in death , the proceeds would move to the contingent beneficiary . Only when there is no named beneficiary to receive the benefit , or a spouse to claim it , would it fall back to the estate . At that point , you 've got taxes , and probate issues , so it is always wiser to have your beneficiaries up to date . Thanks for asking ! 