Missouri does not wait for you to update your will after a divorce. As soon as your divorce is finalized, RSMo § 474.420 automatically revokes any provisions naming your former spouse. Your ex-spouse is treated as if they had died on the day the court ruled on your divorce. This sounds convenient, but it is rarely the case.
The cancellation only applies to specific gifts and appointments. If your ex-partner was your sole beneficiary, then the rest of your will leaves a gap with no clear answer about who will fill it. If they were appointed as a personal representative, this appointment also disappears, and Missouri courts have confirmed that the statute applies even when a couple’s will promises not to revoke it. Unless the document specifies that the agreement survives a divorce, it does not.
Beneficiary Forms Don’t Follow the Same Rule as Your Will
Most people assume that a life insurance policy or a payable-on-death account works in the same way as a will. This is mostly true in Missouri. RSMo § 461.051 revokes a beneficiary designation naming a former spouse when the divorce becomes final and it affects transfer-on-death deeds, payable-on-death bank accounts, and most private life insurance policies.
Retirement accounts are governed by different rules. A 401(k) plan, a pension, or employer group life insurance is governed by federal law, not the Missouri probate code. In the case of Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings & Investment Plan, the US Supreme Court ruled that the plan administrator must pay according to the form on file, even if a divorce decree states that the ex-spouse has given up all rights to the account. State law simply does not apply to ERISA plans, so your ex can still collect money from these plans.
Trusts and Powers of Attorney Have Their Own Triggers
A revocable living trust follows the rules similar to those for wills. The provisions favoring a former spouse are revoked after the divorce is final, and the trust is read as if that spouse had already died.
Powers of attorney operate on a different schedule. When a named agent is your spouse, those powers typically end the moment a divorce or legal separation is filed, rather than when it is finalized, unless the document explicitly states otherwise. Divorce proceedings can take months to complete. Appoint a new agent immediately, and update your health care directive at the same time, so hospital staff are not left guessing who can represent you.
Remarriage Can Leave a New Spouse Out or Cut Out Your Children
Divorce triggers automatic protections. Remarriage does the opposite. It creates a gap that the law fills, whether you meant it to or not.
If your will was signed before your current marriage and you have never updated it, your new spouse may qualify as an “omitted spouse” under RSMo § 474.235. They will inherit the same share that they would have received if you had died without a will, unless your will indicates that the omission was intentional or you provided for them in another way outside of the will with the intention that it would substitute for a bequest.
That share has to come from somewhere. In a blended family, it often comes from what you intended for children from a previous marriage. A new spouse can also choose to take a statutory share in opposition to an unfavorable will, regardless of what the document says. Neither outcome requires anyone to go to court and argue about their intent. The law does it automatically.
Review Your Plan Before the Law Reviews It for You
Getting divorced or remarried resets who has legal authority over your money, your medical decisions, and your children’s inheritance. Sometimes, it’s correct. Sometimes it’s not. Documents worth a second look include your will, any trusts, every beneficiary form tied to a retirement account or life insurance policy, and power of attorney.
Wegmann Law Firm has been helping Missouri families for more than 50 years to sort out exactly the kind of overlap between family law and estate planning. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
