An insured names his spouse as primary beneficiary and his daughter as contingent beneficiary. Both the insured and his spouse die in the same automobile accident and survivorship cannot be determined. Under Texas's simultaneous death rule, who receives the life insurance proceeds?

Why this is the answer

Simultaneous death rules, modeled on the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act (USDA), resolve common-disaster situations. Texas's version, Estates Code §121.153(a), treats the insured as having survived the beneficiary when they die less than 120 hours apart, which covers deaths in the same accident where survivorship cannot be established. For life insurance purposes, this means the primary beneficiary (spouse) is treated as having predeceased the insured. Because the primary beneficiary is deemed to have predeceased, the contingent beneficiary (daughter) becomes entitled to the proceeds—just as she would have if the spouse had died before the insured under normal circumstances. Option A ignores the USDA. Option B is wrong—proceeds do not escheat to the state when a valid contingent beneficiary exists. Option C is partially right on the presumption but wrong on who receives proceeds, as the contingent beneficiary steps in before the estate. The TX outline §II.B specifically lists 'Common disaster' as a testable beneficiary designation topic.