What to Update After Divorce in Alabama

Alabama's Automatic Revocation Laws — and Their Limits

Alabama has two statutes that automatically strip your ex-spouse from certain legal roles after divorce. Code § 43-8-137 revokes will provisions in your ex's favor, and § 30-4-17 extends that to revocable trusts, payable-on-death accounts, transfer-on-death accounts, and joint tenancy with right of survivorship. These statutes also remove your ex-spouse's relatives from beneficiary and fiduciary positions.

That sounds comprehensive, but it has a gap that has cost people hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The ERISA Exception

Federal ERISA law completely preempts Alabama's revocation statutes when it comes to employer-sponsored retirement plans and group life insurance. Under Egelhoff v. Egelhoff (2001), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that plan administrators must pay benefits to whoever is listed on the beneficiary designation form — regardless of what any state law or divorce decree says.

If your ex-spouse is still the named beneficiary on your 401(k), 403(b), employer pension, or group life insurance policy, they receive 100% of the payout if you die. Your divorce decree is irrelevant. Alabama Code § 30-4-17 does not apply.

The only fix is manual: contact your HR department and each plan administrator directly to submit new beneficiary designation forms.

The Full Update List

Beneficiary designations (submit new forms):

• Employer-sponsored retirement plans (401(k), 403(b))
• Group life insurance
• Individual life insurance policies
• HSA and FSA accounts
• Payable-on-death bank accounts
• Transfer-on-death brokerage accounts
• Individual retirement accounts (IRA, Roth IRA)

Estate planning documents (draft new ones):

• Last Will and Testament — execute with two disinterested witnesses and a notarized self-proving affidavit
• Revocable trusts — amend or restate to update successor trustees and beneficiaries
• Durable Power of Attorney — Alabama Code § 26-1A-110 suspends your ex's authority as your agent when you file for divorce, but execute a new POA naming someone you trust
• Healthcare directive and HIPAA authorization — revoke the old directive and notify your medical providers in writing

Insurance policies:

• Auto insurance — split the policy or remove your ex-spouse. Notify the insurer within the policy's reporting window to avoid lapses.
• Homeowners or renters insurance — update the named insured if one spouse kept the property
• Health insurance — divorce is a qualifying life event. You have 30 to 60 days to change coverage.

Financial accounts:

• Joint bank accounts — close or convert to individual
• Joint credit cards — close and open individual accounts
• Mortgage — the retaining spouse must refinance or obtain an approved assumption to remove the other from the loan
• Auto loans — refinance in the retaining spouse's name to release the departing spouse from liability

Government records:

• SSA name change (if applicable)
• Driver's license through ALEA
• Vehicle titles at the county licensing office
• Passport

The Order Matters

Beneficiary updates and estate planning should happen within the first 30 days. Insurance changes are driven by the qualifying-life-event window. Name changes follow a strict agency sequence. Property transfers and retirement divisions have their own timelines governed by the decree's terms.

The Alabama After-Divorce Checklist organizes all of these updates into a phased timeline with tracking worksheets, so nothing gets missed during the weeks when everything feels overwhelming.

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