'American Idol' Alum Caleb Flynn Barred From Collecting Murdered Wife's Life Insurance

Caleb Flynn may be spending the rest of his life behind bars for murdering his wife ... but now there's a new fight over her $100,000 life insurance policy, which named him as the sole beneficiary ... TMZ has learned.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ, Banner Life Insurance Company filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Ohio federal court ... asking a judge to decide who gets the money from Ashley Flynn's policy.

Here's the kicker ... the insurance company says Caleb was listed as the policy's owner and sole beneficiary when it was issued in March 2016, nearly 10 years before he murdered Ashley ... and no backup beneficiary was named.

But, according to the docs, there's a major problem for Caleb ... the insurance company notes that Ohio's so-called "slayer statute" prevents someone convicted of murder from profiting off their victim's death, meaning he's legally barred from collecting the cash.

Banner says the payout now totals more than $100K with interest and premium refunds ... and is looking to hand the money over to the court so a judge can sort out who gets it.

The lawsuit also names Caleb's parents, his brother, Ashley's parents, her sister and brother-in-law, and the couple's two daughters as defendants ... though the company isn't accusing them of wrongdoing. It simply wants the court to determine who is entitled to the money.

As TMZ previously reported ... Caleb was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in October after being convicted of shooting Ashley twice in the back of the head and staging the scene to look like a break-in.

His two daughters later ripped into him in emotional statements read at sentencing ... with one declaring she'd never visit him in prison.