MS HB1098

Amends Section 91-29-23 of the Mississippi Code to clarify that ex-spouses designated as beneficiaries on life insurance policies are automatically removed as beneficiaries following divorce or annulment.

Clarifies that the revocation of an ex-spouse as beneficiary applies to all life insurance designations made by or on behalf of a decedent who died on or after July 1, 2020.

Provides three exceptions where an ex-spouse may still receive policy proceeds: if the divorce decree designates them as beneficiary, if the insured redesignates them after the decree, or if they are designated to hold proceeds in trust for a child or dependent of either former spouse.

Directs that policy proceeds go to a named alternative beneficiary or to the insured's estate if the ex-spouse designation is revoked and no alternative beneficiary exists.

Applies to the effective date retroactively to cover designations made before the bill's passage, as long as the decedent died on or after July 1, 2020.