Once your divorce is final, you can change your beneficiary designations as long as they follow the settlement agreement you made with your ex-spouse.

What happens to life insurance when divorced?

Getting a divorce does not automatically invalidate or change your life insurance policy. If you or your former spouse want to make any adjustments to your respective life insurance policies, such as who receives your policy’s death benefit, you’ll need to do that through the life insurance company.

Can a spouse change the name of a life insurance policy?

There’s no chance to contact the life insurance company and make a name change on the policy because your husband or wife isn’t around to do it. You still shouldn’t freak out — yet. “First thing I’d say, if you’re in that situation, you call a lawyer,” Oliver says. But then he adds that it all depends on your state and how it handles insurance.

Can a former spouse be a beneficiary on a life insurance policy?

To avoid situations where ex-spouses incidentally benefit from policies of their deceased former spouses, many states have enacted laws that automatically revoke the ex-spouse as the beneficiary on the life insurance policy following divorce. These laws were designed to prevent conflict among families and limit litigation over disputed policies.

Can a divorce decree override a life insurance policy?

A divorce decree can override a beneficiary designation in a life insurance policy only in cases where the divorce decree (usually a state court order) is not preempted by laws controlling the life insurance policy itself.

Can a spouse claim life insurance after a divorce?

If the insured created a will or a trust after a divorce and included his life insurance policy in them, but failed to update a beneficiary on his policy, the existing beneficiary may have a valid claim for life insurance money after the insured’s death.