Does Life Insurance Go Through Probate? 
Video Transcript : Today 's question is , Does life insurance go through probate ? Generally , when a policy insured dies , he or she has beneficiaries . Those beneficiaries generally see the proceeds direct to them , bypassing probate . I love this because those proceeds then generally , by the way absolutely tax free , go to their beneficiaries without having the interference or going through the steps of probate . What that means is that that money , when it comes direct , the beneficiaries can use that money as they see fit . So there 's no dictate from probate how it 's done , how it 's used , or that it has to go through state probate first . It generally goes to the beneficiaries , and then they can use that to pay off indebtedness or to put money aside for future obligations . And that 's why I like it , because its one of the perks of life insurance . It generally goes directly to beneficiaries and not through probate . 