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Question!
On a scale from one to 10, how certain is it that John Joseph McLaughlin, longtime moderator of The McLaughlin Group, upon his divorce from his former wife Christina Vidal, intended for her to benefit from two life insurance annuities that he brought to the marriage? The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has provided an answer.
The Case
In March 1996, before he married Ms. Vidal, Mr. McLaughlin designated her as the beneficiary of two annuity contracts that he purchased from Hartford Life & Annuity Insurance Company and Allianz Life Insurance Company.
Mr. McLaughlin and Ms. Vidal executed a prenuptial property settlement agreement in 1997 and were married in June of that year. The agreement provided for a lump sum transfer of $1 million from Mr. McLaughlin to Ms. Vidal in the event of their divorce and indicated that the payment would settle all property rights arising out of their marriage.
The couple divorced in 2010. In granting the divorce, the District of Columbia divorce court found their prenuptial agreement fully enforceable and incorporated it into the judgment.
Mr. McLaughlin never removed Ms. Vidal as beneficiary of the annuities after their divorce.
Mr. McLaughlin died in Washington in August 2016. He was not survived by a spouse or children.
Elizabeth McLaughlin, Mr. McLaughlin's niece and the representative of his estate, asked a federal district court in the District of Columbia to declare that the estate was the sole beneficiary of the Hartford and Allianz annuities. She also sought a declaratory judgment against the insurance companies.
Ms. McLaughlin served Ms. Vidal personally with a summons and complaint; Ms. Vidal did not answer or otherwise respond to the complaint.
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