The share of a deceased primary beneficiary under a class designation for their children is preserved by which rule?

• A. The New York Rule
• B. The Connecticut Rule
• C. Both I and II
• D. Neither I nor II

Answer: (B)

When a life insurance policy uses a class designation like “my children,” the fate of a deceased member of that class depends on the rule the jurisdiction follows. The Connecticut Rule preserves the share that would have gone to a deceased primary beneficiary for that beneficiary’s own children. In other words, the deceased’s portion doesn’t vanish; it is allocated to the deceased beneficiary’s descendants, typically by representation (often described as per stirpes). This keeps the protection within that branch of the family.

The alternative, the New York Rule, does not preserve that share for the deceased beneficiary’s children. Instead, the deceased member’s portion is treated as if they didn’t survive to take it, and the remaining surviving members of the class would share the total among themselves (without passing the deceased’s share to their descendants).

So, the rule that preserves the deceased beneficiary’s share for their children is the Connecticut Rule.