Can dependant support be ordered out of life insurance proceeds that passed directly to a named beneficiary?

Sometimes, yes — but it isn't automatic. Life insurance proceeds paid to a named beneficiary normally pass directly to that person, outside the estate and outside probate. Part V of the Succession Law Reform Act, however, gives an Ontario court some ability, in the right circumstances, to treat certain property that passed outside the estate this way as available to help satisfy a dependant support order.

Whether a court will actually reach into insurance proceeds — or other assets like jointly held property — depends heavily on the specific facts: the size of the estate itself, the deceased's intentions, the dependant's needs, and the relationship between the dependant and the named beneficiary. It is not a routine outcome, and a dependant cannot assume insurance money is automatically fair game just because the estate itself is thin. Anyone considering this kind of claim should get legal advice early, since the timing and evidence needed to reach outside assets differ from an ordinary claim against estate property.