- 24,934
Insurance on ex wife
- Thread starter Deepsea
- Start date
- 24,934
I have also seen where a woman, usually, pays the premium for years just to find the ex changed the bene to the new girlfriend. Which he was no longer with when he died.
- Thread starter
- #33
Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine
A link to the Florida statue.
When I look at paragraph (2), I think I am covered because my new beneficiary form that was executed after I was legally divorced and the new beneficiary form that I submitted, which replaces the prior beneficiary form......now reflects my status as the Ex-Husband. In addition I had in my Marital Settlement Agreement that I would own all life insurance contracts, and explicitly referenced the last 4 digits of each policy number.......to make sure I’m covered.
Also I was the owner before the divorce and the owner after the divorce....again just updated beneficiary form to reflect my new status as EX-Husband.
Also paragraph 4) section e)
Deepsea
A link to the Florida statue.
When I look at paragraph (2), I think I am covered because my new beneficiary form that was executed after I was legally divorced and the new beneficiary form that I submitted, which replaces the prior beneficiary form......now reflects my status as the Ex-Husband. In addition I had in my Marital Settlement Agreement that I would own all life insurance contracts, and explicitly referenced the last 4 digits of each policy number.......to make sure I’m covered.
Also I was the owner before the divorce and the owner after the divorce....again just updated beneficiary form to reflect my new status as EX-Husband.
Also paragraph 4) section e)
Deepsea
Last edited:
- 5,778
Wonder if under "relationship" you stated "beni to the insured'd policy" if that would make a difference regardless of status other than the stated? Dumb question perhaps, but that's what these lawyers do when finagaling with the wording.
- 1,405
I think this is the paragraph that is key:
(2) A designation made by or on behalf of the decedent providing for the payment or transfer at death of an interest in an asset to or for the benefit of the decedent’s former spouse is void as of the time the decedent’s marriage was judicially dissolved or declared invalid by court order prior to the decedent’s death, if the designation was made prior to the dissolution or court order. The decedent’s interest in the asset shall pass as if the decedent’s former spouse predeceased the decedent. An individual retirement account described in s. 408 or s. 408A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or an employee benefit plan, may not be treated as a trust for purposes of this section.
Wow, news to me. That's draconian and stupid. Can anyone explain why a law like this makes even a little bit of sense?
Clearly if you make a change in beneficiary, from yourself to yourself, AFTER the marriage is dissolved, you should be OK. I think the relationship to the insured is meaningless, in that you own the policy and if you want to make the beneficiary your pet squirrel it's your policy.
- 4,550
Yeah, I have run into it a half dozen times to date. It can be an E&O waiting to happen if you have knowledge of a divorce, especially for those of us that are also in the Property Casualty world & would have made changes to Auto & Home policies, but failed to update the bene designation.
Keep in mind, you are likely thinking of cases where the Owner is the divorced spouse & bene. But think in terms of someone owning their own policy & making their spouse the beneficiary. If the divorce laws didnt address voiding that right to be a beneficiary, tons of claims would pay out to former spouses, potentially decades & decades later. Same for Additional insured riders still on policies. Insurable interest was voided by the divorce law unless there were valid reasons to allow it in the divorce decree as a line item (IE: young children, alimony, joint debts, etc). I am guessing the laws were written to keep from someone getting a windfall 10, 30 or 50 years after being divorced.
I doubt the laws will change, we merely have to be aware & warn clients to update, update, update bene especially in a divorce situation
- 4,550
- 4,550
If You need help falling asleep, I believe this info from 1988 was why states began passing laws. The conclusion on the last page points to likely the beginning of many states adding the topic to the divorce laws. https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3367&context=clr
- 4,550
Agree. But the divorce laws consider the marital relationship that created the insurable interest to have pre-deceased the insured's death, therefore payable to the contingent beneficiary unless updated. Crazy stuff
