Elder Law Answers
Do We Follow the Will or the Beneficiary Designations?
I have a brother and half-brother who are both beneficiaries of my parents? estate along with me. My parents? will stated...
Read moreDoes a CCRC Refund Follow the Will or a Named Beneficiary?
- March 13th, 2026
Q
My Dad's will states that all of his estate is to be divided equally between me and my sister (also the executor). He moved into a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) after an Alzheimer's diagnosis. My sister sold his house and the proceeds became the entrance deposit. She claims that our Dad wanted her to be the sole beneficiary of the refund. Is the CCRC obligated to check for a will? The house sale funds would automatically be part of his estate, had he died at home. Does she have to give me half of the refund?
A
The CCRC is usually not obligated to check the will, but your sister is absolutely obligated to follow the law.
1. Is the CCRC obligated to check the will?
Generally, no. A Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) is a private business. When your father moved in, he signed a residency contract.
That contract usually includes a beneficiary designation form for the entrance fee refund. This works like a life insurance policy or a payable-on-death (POD) bank account.
- If your father (or your sister acting as his power of attorney) named her as the sole beneficiary on that specific contract, the CCRC will pay her directly.
- The CCRC’s only “obligation” is to fulfill the terms of their own contract, not to investigate if the contract contradicts a person's will.
2. Does the refund belong to the estate?
This is the million-dollar question. Legally, there is a difference between probate assets and nonprobate assets.
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Probate assets: Anything owned solely by your father (like the house was) that passes through the will.
- Nonprobate assets: Assets with a named beneficiary (like a 401(k) or a CCRC refund) that skip the will and go straight to the person named.
However, because your father had Alzheimer’s, your sister likely used a power of attorney to sign that CCRC contract. A POA has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the principal (your father), not themselves. If she moved his primary asset (the house) into a contract where she named herself the sole beneficiary, she may have committed what is called “self-dealing.”
3. Does she have to give you half?
If the will says “divide the estate equally,” and she effectively removed the entire value of the estate by putting it into a contract with her name on it, you have a strong legal argument.
| Scenario | Likely Outcome |
|---|---|
| Father signed the CCRC papers while lucid | It might be considered a valid gift to her, though still contestable. |
| Sister signed the POA and named herself | This is often seen as a breach of fiduciary duty; the money should likely go back to the estate. |
| No beneficiary was named on the contract | The refund automatically goes to the estate, and she must split it with you per the will. |
Next Steps
Because your sister is the executor, she has a legal responsibility to settle the estate transparently. If she withholds the refund based on a verbal claim (“Dad wanted me to have it”), she is on shaky legal ground. Verbal wishes almost never override a written will.
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Ask for a copy of the CCRC residency agreement and the beneficiary designation page.
- See if the beneficiary was named before or after his diagnosis.
- If the amount is significant, a lawyer can file a petition for accounting or challenge the beneficiary designation based on undue influence or breach of fiduciary duty.
Note that most CCRC refunds are considered “repaid debt” to the estate rather than a gift, meaning they usually default to the estate unless specifically directed otherwise.