divorce estate-planning
Life Insurance Payout to Ex-Stepchild
<p>Bob has a life insurance policy, which listed his now ex-wife first and ex-stepchild second as the beneficiaries.  </p>

<p>Under Pennsylvania law, any designation of a spouse as a beneficiary in an estate-planning document is automatically revoked, following a divorce.  Does this also preclude the grown, adult stepchild from collecting the life insurance?</p>

<p>Bob has no other family, and no one else is listed as a beneficiary.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.cgalaw.com/life-insurance-beneficiaries-and-divorce/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The law regarding life insurance and divorce</a> in PA is maybe contrary to expectation. When you are divorced, that nullifies a designation of the spouse as beneficiary to life insurance policy, unless it is continued in the settlement agreement or court order. But this is not be applicable if the insurance is part of an employment benefit which is regulated by federal law (thus the PA law does not apply). <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&amp;ttl=20&amp;div=0&amp;chpt=61&amp;sctn=11&amp;subsctn=2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">This</a> is the relevant law: it only applies to the ex-spouse. Whether or not the spouse's child was adopted by the future-deceased, the law does not nullify life insurance inheritance for anyone else. Therefore the step-child will collect.</p>

<h2>Life insurance is not an estate planning document</h2>

<p>A law that nullifies beneficiaries under the latter would not do so under the former. There may be a Pennsylvania law that nullifies life insurance beneficiaries on divorce but that would be a different one than the one that does so for testamentary reasons.</p>

<p>In any event, naming beneficiaries is generally not binding on the life insurer - it's actually their decision who they pay, however, it is very rare for them not to follow the nomination.</p>
