A Pennsylvania policyowner named her husband as the beneficiary of her life policy. They later divorced, and she never changed the designation before her death. Under 20 Pa.C.S.A. § 6111.2, how is the beneficiary designation treated?
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Why D is correct
20 Pa.C.S.A. § 6111.2, Pennsylvania's revocation-upon-divorce rule in the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code, provides that divorce revokes provisions in favor of a former spouse, including beneficiary designations, so the ex-spouse is treated as having predeceased unless the policyowner re-designated him after the divorce. The proceeds therefore flow to the alternate or remaining beneficiary named in the policy. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department expects producers to warn divorcing clients to review their beneficiary designations anyway, because the statutory revocation operates on the former spouse's designation while the rest of the designation structure continues to function.
Why the other options are wrong
- A) Leaving the former spouse in place contradicts 20 Pa.C.S.A. § 6111.2; divorce itself operates as a revocation of the spousal designation.
- B) No equal split occurs; the statute removes the former spouse entirely and lets the remaining designation structure operate as if he had predeceased.
- C) Judicial re-adjudication of the divorce is not required; the revocation operates by operation of law once the divorce is effective.
Memory hook
Divorce is a revocation pen: the ex-spouse is crossed out by operation of law.