보험수익자의 생명보험금청구권과 상속관련 쟁점

This paper tries to study legal problems related to the death benefit of the beneficiary in life insurance contract and inheritance. It also contains a discussion of beneficiary's rights under commercial law and adjustment of conflicting interests between an inheritor and a beneficiary. A whole life insurance policy ordinarily confers on its owner a number of valuable rights. According to Commercial Act § 732 ①, The policyowner can designate or change the beneficiary. The Status of beneficiary's in Korea is so unstable, because the policyowner can terminate the rights of beneficiary whenever the policyowner whishes, However an irrevocable beneficiary has a vested right to death benefit and cash surrender value in Germany, USA. In Korea, a policyowner have to be able to name a beneficiary irrevocably if she wishes. Therefore, I think, An irrevocable beneficiary should have an immediate bested right to benefit and cash surrender value. In this paper, Whether the death benefit of the beneficiary is included in inherited Property or not is discussed to adjust conflicting interests between an inheritor and the beneficiary in the life insurance contract. When a inheritor of the insured, a spouse, or children, is named as beneficiary, he/she takes beneficiary's rights immediately. His/her right is beneficiary’s own property. Therefore, the death benefits should not be included in the inherited Property. If one of the inheritors accepts inheritance qualifiedly or renounces inheritance, it does not affect the right to death benefit of beneficiaries. If many inheritors take the right to death benefit, the allotment ratio among co-beneficiaries should be Equal proportions.