Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois
My nephew was beneficiary of my brother's 401k before he was married. He was then married, did not change the beneficiary, was going through a divorce and then died before the divorce was final. Does the 401k go to my nephew or my brother's wife? This is in IL. If the $ does go to the wife, is there any way we can fight it through the courts?
1 Answer from Attorneys
You need to have a lawyer look closely at the facts, but the usual answer is that an employer sponsored plan, such as 401(k) will go to the surviving spouse. There are exceptions. Is there a pre-nup? Did she sign a spousal waiver? Was it rolled over to an IRA? Were any interim orders entered in the divorce proceeding that might affect the issue?
Depending on the size of the 401(k) you might also look at whether he got bad advice which could be grounds for a malpractice case.
Good luck. I can be reached at www.legacylaws.com.
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