Legal Question in Family Law in Missouri
life insurance policy regs and divorce
My mother and step father divorced 6Mar 1986. The Decree had no stipulations of how life insurance policies were handled, such as saying that a policy to the other party is null and void on the effective date.
My mother died Dec. 2000. The life insurance policy she had through her company had not been updated since before she had died.
I wanted to know if MO divorce laws have any inherent policy that the divorced spouse is/is not legally entitled to the insurance policy payout due to death, and not changing the life insurance policy.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: life insurance policy regs and divorce
If I understand your question, the divorce decree says nothing about the life insurance policy. Presumably, the policy insuring your mom's life named her husband (your step-dad) as the beneficiary. The insurance company entered into a contract under which they agreed, upon the timely payment of all premiums, to pay the named beneficiary a stated sum upon the death of the insured (your mom). The fact the the insured and the beneficiary were married and then divorced does not alter the insurance companies contractual duty to pay the insurance proceeds to the named beneficiay.
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