Does Divorce Automatically Revoke the Life Insurance Beneficiary Status of the Ex-Spouse in Tennessee?

One issue that comes up on occasion in Tennessee is whether a life insurance policy beneficiary designation is revoked automatically by a divorce.  The short answer to this question is no, a divorce does not revoke a life insurance beneficiary designation.  This is the default rule in Tennessee. 

Often life insurance companies will deny life insurance payouts to ex-spouses on the basis that they assert a divorce revokes the beneficiary designation.  That is not the rule in Tennessee.  In fact, there is a Tennessee Supreme Court case that has addressed this issue. See Bowers v. Bowers, 637 S.W.2d 456 (Tenn. 1982). 

Many life insurance companies that write policies in Tennessee are actually located outside of the State of Tennessee.  They often have non-Tennessee attorneys review life insurance policies and the beneficiary status when there is a divorce.  Some of these attorneys do not know the Tennessee law on this issue.  If you receive a denial of life insurance as an ex-spouse when you are still listed as a beneficiary on the life insurance policy, you should hire an attorney to assist you with obtaining these life insurance benefits.  Obviously, every fact situation is different, but the general rule in Tennessee is that the divorce does not revoke the life insurance beneficiary designation.