A Pennsylvania policyowner divorces, wants to keep her former husband as the beneficiary of her life policy, and asks whether that is possible. Under 20 Pa.C.S.A. § 6111.2, what is the correct answer?
Select an option to reveal the answer and the full 3-part explanation — free, no signup.
Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why C is correct
20 Pa.C.S.A. § 6111.2 revokes a former spouse's beneficiary designation by operation of law upon divorce, but the revocation is not an absolute bar: the policyowner remains free to name the former spouse again. Only a beneficiary designation executed after the divorce preserves the ex-spouse's status, because the statute treats the pre-divorce designation as revoked unless the policyowner subsequently re-designates him. Producers licensed through the Pennsylvania Insurance Department should have divorcing clients re-execute designations deliberately, so the beneficiary record matches the client's actual intent.
Why the other options are wrong
- A) A permanent ban overstates the rule; the revocation of 20 Pa.C.S.A. § 6111.2 yields to a fresh post-divorce designation of the former spouse.
- B) Automatic survival is exactly what the statute forecloses; the pre-divorce designation is deemed revoked, so inaction does not preserve the ex-spouse's interest.
- D) Premium payment has no effect on the revocation; only a new post-divorce designation restores the former spouse as beneficiary.
Memory hook
Divorce erases the ex by law — only a brand-new designation writes him back in.