Asked about 1 year ago - Front Royal, VA
FlagMy Mom and Dad lived in Virginia and were divorced in 2006. My Dad never changed the beneficiarys name on the Farmers Life Insurance Policy. My Dad died in 2011 and Farmers Life Insurance tracked down my Mom a few months later and informed her there was a plociy with her listed as the beneficiary. She filled out the paperwork and provided them with the death certificate only to be told her benefits were revoked because they were divorced ( Virginia State Law 20-111.1). Is there a way around this law and if not does the money pass to his kids?
You'll need to track down a copy of the divorce decree to see if it addressed the life insurance policy. Similarly, a separate written agreement between your parents at the time of the divorce overriding Section 20-111.1 would also prevent this law from taking effect.
Another exception would be if the named beneficiary of the insurance policy were a trust, even if your Mom were the beneficiary of the trust.
To be able to confirm the outcome of this question, you'll need to look at the divorce decree, any possible written agreements specifically referring to the insurance policy, and the insurance policy itself.
If none of the foregoing exceptions apply, then the effect of that law is to put the parties in the position as though the beneficiary (your Mom) died before the insured (your Dad). In that case, the proceeds would go to the contingent beneficiaries, or to your Dad's estate if he didn't name any.
The law trumps the designation and mom gets nothing. If there were contingent beneficiaries designated they will take the proceeds. If no contingent beneficiaries were named it would go to the estate to be divided in accordance with the will or the laws of intestacy of the state of residence of the decedent if there was no will.
Hope this helps.
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Mr. Fromm is licensed to practice law throughout the state of PA with offices in Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties. He is authorized to handle IRS matters throughout the United States. His phone number is 215-735-2336 or his email address is sjfpc@comcast.net , his website for more tax, estate and business articles is www.sjfpc.com. and his blog is
I agree with the previous answers UNLESS the policy were under ERISA. Then you would need to investigate further. The law is very unsettled in such cases. Some states hold that there is a constructive trust imposed and the policy passes to the estate. Others provide that the beneficiary designation is controlling. There has been a boatload of cases on this over the past couple years. You need to check with an attorney to determine how your State (and federal circuit) treat such policies.
James Frederick
My condolences on the loss of your father. The other attorneys have all given excellent answers and advice. I am attaching a link to an AVVO.com Legal Guide re Life Insurance Policies. It has a section on locating additional life insurance polices that you might find helpful. Follow the advice of the other attorneys and good luck.
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