Brown v. Brown, 91 Mass. App. Ct. 1110 (2017) (unpublished)

The decedent’s three sons brought an action against the decedent’s second wife, claiming they were entitled to the proceeds of their father’s life insurance policy and the second wife was unjustly enriched when she received the proceeds. Under the terms of a divorce agreement with his first wife, the decedent was obligated to maintain a life insurance policy for the benefit of the sons until they were emancipated. The decedent had kept the three sons as the beneficiaries of his life insurance for a period of time, but then changed the designation to his second wife. When the decedent was diagnosed with cancer, he gave his sister power of attorney and asked her to designate his children as beneficiaries. The sister requested information about the policy which was sent to the decedent’s house, where the second wife confirmed that she was the primary beneficiary. The second wife received all the proceeds of the policy when the decedent died.

A Superior Court jury returned a verdict in favor of the sons. The trial judge denied the second wife’s motion for remittur. On appeal, the Massachusetts Appeals Court found no abuse of discretion in the trial judge’s denial, noting that there was ample evidence from which the jury could conclude that two of the three sons were not yet emancipated when the decedent died. Further, the sons only had to demonstrate that the second wife received a benefit that was unjust, not that she was guilty of any wrongdoing.