L&HNew Yorkhard
A NY resident names her spouse as the primary beneficiary of an individual life policy. Five years later the couple is divorced by a NY judgment. Under NY law (including Domestic Relations Law § 248 / EPTL § 5-1.4 framework), what happens to the ex-spouse's beneficiary designation absent a contrary writing?
AThe ex-spouse remains the primary beneficiary because beneficiary designations survive divorce in NY
BThe proceeds escheat to the State of New York
CThe proceeds are paid 50/50 between the ex-spouse and the estate
The designation of the former spouse is revoked by operation of law upon final judgment of divorce, and proceeds pass as if the ex-spouse predeceased — unless the policy or a court order provides otherwise
Why this is the answer
NY law (Domestic Relations Law § 248, working with EPTL § 5-1.4) treats a final judgment of divorce as automatically revoking any revocable beneficiary designation of the former spouse on a life insurance policy unless the divorce decree, separation agreement, or post-divorce written designation says otherwise. The legal fiction is that the ex-spouse predeceased the insured; the proceeds then flow to contingent beneficiaries or, failing them, to the insured's estate. The policy does not escheat to NY State on divorce alone, and proceeds are not split 50/50 between the ex and the estate by default.
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