Virginia has a statute that a spouse's designation of the other spouse as a beneficiary in a life insurance policy is not valid if the husband and wife divorce. It goes further and provides that if the designation is not changed after a divorce and the insurance company pays the divorced spouse the benefits, the divorced spouse is liable to the current beneficiaries (usually the new life) for the benefits that they received. Texas has similar statutes.
In April 2013, the United States Supreme Court was asked by an ex-wife to declare that the Virginia statute was preempted by federal law where the life insurance policy was part of a federal workers employment benefit. In that case, the husband had named his wife as the beneficiary of his federal life insurance policy. He and his wife got divorced and he remarried but forgot to change the beneficiary designation to his new wife. When he died, his new wife claimed that she should be entitled to the proceeds of the policy based on the Virginia law that divorce nullifies a designation in favor of the divorced spouse. The Supreme Court held that the Virginia law was preempted by federal law which provided that the insurance policy would be paid to the designated beneficiary. The divorced spouse received the benefits as a result ot the ruling. It is important that you keep the beneficiary designations in your insurance and financial accounts up to date. If you don't, your accounts or insurance proceeds may go to someone that you do not intend that they go to. No. 11-1221.
Copyright by Robert Ray a Texas inheritance attorney.
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This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. These matters turn heavily on specific facts and specific dates, and the law has exceptions this page does not cover. You should not take, or refrain from taking, any action based on this page. Discuss your circumstances with an attorney who can advise you on them.