Can Creditors Go After Life Insurance Payout? 
Creditors can not go after the life insurance payout to pay the debts of the deceased insured person , as long as the beneficiary or beneficiaries who are receiving the life insurance proceeds are actual people . Life insurance bypasses probate , so the creditor does not have the opportunity to access the life insurance payout . If the beneficiary is the insured person 's estate , the creditors may be able to go after the life insurance death benefit to pay the debts of the insured . If the beneficiary is the one who has the debts , then the creditors can go after the life insurance payout . This is also true if the beneficiary shared a debt with the deceased . 