A Minnesota Estate Planning Lawyer Explains a Recent Court Decision Affecting the Life Insurance Proceeds for Divorced Couple
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit should cause anyone who has been divorced scrambling to ensure his or her beneficiaries are property listed on life insurance or retirement accounts. Namely, be sure your ex-spouse is NO LONGER listed as a beneficiary.
The Eight Circuit just struck down a Minnesota law automatically removing an ex-spouse from being listed as a beneficiary on a life insurance policy in a situation where the divorce took place before the law was enacted.
The Facts
Mark Sveen purchased a life insurance policy from
Mr. Sveen failed to remove Ms. Melin from his insurance policy so that when he died in 2011, Ms. Melin still was the primary beneficiary on the policy.
The Law
In 2002, Minnesota amended its probate code to state that the dissolution or annulment of a marriage revokes any revocable … beneficiary designation … made by an individu