How to Update Beneficiaries After Divorce in New Jersey

The Law Protects You — But Only Partially

New Jersey's automatic revocation statute, N.J.S.A. 3B:3-14, treats your former spouse as if they predeceased you for purposes of wills, revocable trusts, and similar state-governed instruments. The moment the Final Judgment of Divorce is entered, any revocable disposition naming your ex-spouse is generally revoked by operation of law, unless the Final Judgment of Divorce or integrated Property Settlement Agreement expressly requires it to be maintained.

That sounds comprehensive. It isn't. Several major asset categories sit completely outside the reach of this statute, and if you don't update them manually, your ex-spouse collects when you die — no matter what your will says.

What the State Statute Does and Doesn't Cover

Automatically revoked under New Jersey law after the Final Judgment of Divorce:

• Wills and codicils (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-14)
• Revocable living trusts (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-14)
• Healthcare proxies and advance directives (a former spouse's designation is revoked upon divorce under N.J.S.A. 26:2H-57)

NOT automatically revoked — you must update manually:

• Employer-sponsored retirement accounts (401(k), 403(b)) governed by federal ERISA
• Group life insurance policies issued under ERISA-governed benefit plans
• U.S. savings bonds with POD (payable-on-death) designations
• Individual life insurance policies (varies by policy terms)
• IRA beneficiary designations (varies by custodian)

The Federal Preemption Trap

This is the single most dangerous gap in post-divorce planning. Under ERISA (29 U.S.C. § 1144(a)), federal law overrides state-law revocation statutes for employer-sponsored retirement plans and group life insurance. The U.S. Supreme Court settled this in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff: if a plan participant dies with their former spouse still listed as beneficiary on an ERISA plan, the plan administrator is legally required to pay the former spouse. Your will, your PSA, and New Jersey's revocation statute are all irrelevant.

The same principle applies to federal savings bonds. In Estate of Michael D. Jones (NJ Supreme Court, January 2025), the court held that federal Treasury regulations govern POD designations on U.S. savings bonds. A divorced owner who wants to remove a former spouse as POD beneficiary must physically redeem or reissue the bonds through TreasuryDirect during their lifetime. The state revocation statute doesn't apply.

The MBOS Portal Block for Public Employees

If you're a New Jersey public employee with a pension through PERS, TPAF, or PFRS, there's an additional complication. If the NJ Division of Pensions & Benefits has a court order on file related to your pension (like a DRO), the Member Benefits Online System (MBOS) blocks you from viewing or editing your beneficiary designations online. You have to submit a physical paper Designation of Beneficiary form to the Division to make changes.

The PSA Override Exception

N.J.S.A. 3B:3-14 does not revoke beneficiary designations if the Final Judgment of Divorce or the integrated PSA explicitly requires one spouse to maintain the other as a beneficiary. This is common when life insurance is used to secure alimony or child support obligations. If your PSA says you must keep your ex-spouse as beneficiary on a $500,000 life insurance policy to guarantee support payments, the automatic revocation doesn't apply to that specific policy.

Check your PSA carefully before changing anything. If you're required to maintain certain designations, changing them could put you in contempt of court.

The Update Checklist

Go through every account type and update each one individually:

1. Employer 401(k) / 403(b): Log into your plan provider's portal and submit a new beneficiary designation
2. Group life insurance through your employer: Contact HR or the insurance carrier directly
3. Individual life insurance policies: Contact your insurance agent or carrier
4. IRA accounts: Contact your custodian (Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, etc.)
5. NJ public pension (PERS, TPAF, PFRS): Submit a paper beneficiary form to the NJDPB if MBOS is blocked
6. U.S. savings bonds: Redeem or reissue through TreasuryDirect
7. Bank POD/TOD accounts: Visit your bank to update transfer-on-death designations

Don't Let This One Slide

Beneficiary updates are the task most likely to fall to the bottom of the post-divorce to-do list — and the one with the highest stakes if it gets forgotten. The New Jersey After-Divorce Checklist walks you through every designation that needs attention, organized by the type of legal authority that governs it.

See more New Jersey guides →