Two brothers are in dispute with their late sister’s husband over the proceeds of a €1.3 million insurance policy taken out on her life, the High Court heard.
John and Paul Cullinan, directors of Mycold Ltd, a refrigeration engineering company based in Kilcoole, Wicklow, want an injunction preventing their brother-in-law Brendan Keogh from dissipating the proceeds of the policy pending arbitration over the matter or further court order.
The court heard that the Cullinan brothers and their sister Geraldine (Ger) were directors of Mycold and had set up the Renmore Partnership to invest in property to provide pensions for the three of them.
Life insurance policies for each partner were taken out with Irish Life and €1.3 million was the value of the policy in relation to each of them, Andrew Walker, for the brothers, told the court.
Insurance proceeds
The brothers claimed that upon the death of any of the three, the proceeds of the insurance were to be used by the surviving partners to buy out the deceased’s share in the partnership, Mr Walker said.
Ms Cullinan died from cancer in October 2011 and the policy proceeds were paid out last May to her estate, whose sole beneficiary was her widower, Brendan Keogh, Ashford, Co Wicklow.
A dispute arose between the Cullinans and Mr Keogh over the brothers’ claim that the policy proceeds should go to the partnership. Despite a deal of correspondence and arbitration proposals from the brothers, there was no resolution and the Cullinans then brought High Court proceedings, Mr Walker said.
He added that it was never the intention of the Cullinan siblings that a relative should inherit the policy or come into the partnership.
Assets and liabilities
Mr Keogh denies that and claims the policy proceeds can only go to his wife’s estate. He also says he must first ascertain the assets and liabilities of the estate before he will be in a position to distribute the policy funds.
In affidavits, Mr Keogh has also claimed Mycold, in which his late wife was a 25 per cent shareholder, has not paid out death-in-service and pension benefits due to her estate. Those payments, he claims, were being deliberately retained.
The hearing before Ms Justice Mary Laffoy resumes next week.