Timing is Everything: Beneficiary Change Made During Divorce Action in Violation of NY’s Automatic Orders Ineffective

Reliastar Life Ins. Co. of New York v. Cristando, N.Y. App. Div., 2d Dept., June 3, 2015

Under New York law, while the designation of an ex-spouse beneficiary will be subject to automatic revocation in most circumstances, that same change cannot be made during the pendency of the divorce proceeding. The New York Appellate Division affirmed a trial court’s decision, finding such that a wife’s decision to change the beneficiary of her life insurance policy while her divorce was pending violated the “automatic orders” …

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