How to Update Beneficiaries After Divorce in Indiana

Indiana Revokes Some Designations Automatically — But Not the One That Matters Most

Indiana law provides a set of automatic protections after divorce. Under IC 29-1-5-8, provisions in your will that benefit your former spouse are revoked as of the date the decree is entered — the will reads as if your ex predeceased you. Similar automatic revocations apply to revocable trusts (IC 30-4-2-15), powers of attorney (IC 30-5-4-4), transfer-on-death and payable-on-death designations (IC 32-17-14-23), and funeral planning declarations (IC 29-2-19-15).

That covers most estate planning documents. But the single highest-value beneficiary designation — life insurance — is the one that Indiana does not automatically revoke.

The Life Insurance Exception

Under long-standing Indiana case law, a divorce decree does not change the beneficiary on a life insurance policy. If your ex-spouse is named as beneficiary and you never submit an updated form to the insurance company, your ex-spouse is legally entitled to the full payout when you die. This is true even if the divorce settlement agreement explicitly waived your ex-spouse's right to those proceeds.

For employer-provided life insurance governed by ERISA, the risk is even higher. Under the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff and Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont, federal law requires the plan administrator to pay the beneficiary named in the plan documents — regardless of what the state court ordered or what the divorce decree says.

The Seventh Circuit — which covers Indiana — reinforced this in a February 2026 ruling (Packaging Corp. of Am. v. Langdon), holding that even a fax requesting removal of an ex-spouse was insufficient because the plan required changes through its official benefits portal. The court awarded the full payout to the ex-wife.

What to Update Immediately

Personal life insurance policies: Contact the carrier directly. Request the beneficiary change form, complete it, and submit it with any required documentation. Most carriers accept changes online or by mail. Confirm the change is on file — do not assume a phone call is sufficient.

Employer group life insurance: Log in to your employer's benefits portal or visit HR. The plan-specific process must be followed exactly. If the plan requires an online form, do not submit a paper form or a fax.

Retirement accounts: If you divided retirement accounts through a QDRO or IRA transfer, the beneficiary designations on the remaining balance in your name default to whatever was on file before the transfer. Update them.

Bank accounts with POD designations: Indiana's automatic revocation covers payable-on-death designations (IC 32-17-14-23), but banks do not always update their records automatically. Contact the bank and confirm the designation has been removed or updated.

TOD securities and brokerage accounts: Same statute, same practical advice — verify with the brokerage that the transfer-on-death designation reflects your current wishes.

Naming New Beneficiaries

When updating designations, think through contingencies:

• Primary beneficiary: The person who receives the asset first (children, a new partner, a sibling, a trust).
• Contingent beneficiary: The backup if the primary beneficiary predeceases you or disclaims. Without a contingent, the asset falls into your probate estate, which delays distribution and may direct it somewhere you did not intend.
• Per stirpes vs. per capita: If naming children, specify whether each child's share passes to their own descendants (per stirpes) or is divided equally among surviving beneficiaries (per capita).

A Beneficiary Audit Checklist

Walk through every financial relationship you hold and check the designated beneficiary:

• Employer group life insurance
• Personal/private life insurance policies
• 401(k), 403(b), 457 accounts
• Traditional and Roth IRAs
• Pension plans (PERF, TRF, or private)
• Health savings accounts
• Bank accounts with POD designations
• Brokerage accounts with TOD designations
• Annuities

Protecting What You Have Rebuilt

The Indiana After-Divorce Checklist includes a beneficiary update tracker that lists every account type, the update method, and a confirmation column — so you can work through the audit systematically instead of hoping you remembered everything.

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