Sorensen v. Nelson

342 N.W.2d 477, 1984 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 999
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedJanuary 18, 1984
Docket83-319
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 342 N.W.2d 477 (Sorensen v. Nelson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sorensen v. Nelson, 342 N.W.2d 477, 1984 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 999 (iowa 1984).

Opinions

LARSON, Justice.

A very narrow issue is presented on this appeal: does a dissolution decree, which incorporates the stipulation for division of the parties property interests, terminate a former spouse’s interest as a named life insurance beneficiary when neither the policy nor the interest of the former spouse in the policy is expressly mentioned in either the decree or the underlying stipulation? The district court held that the interest of the former spouse was terminated by the dissolution decree. We agree and affirm the summary judgment.

Thomas Sorensen and Beverly Sorensen were married in June, 1979. In July, Thomas designated Beverly as the primary beneficiary of a pre-existing life insurance policy and designated his mother, Wilda Sorensen, as contingent beneficiary.

The marriage between Thomas and Beverly was dissolved in 1981. The dissolution decree incorporated a stipulation concerning division of property. This stipulation did not expressly mention the life insurance policy, but it did state that each spouse would relinquish all rights against the other not expressly provided for in the dissolution decree.

The stipulation stated the intent of the parties:

[T]he parties desire to make a full, complete and final and permanent settlement of all of their property rights and interests of any and all claims of any and every kind and character which have arisen, which now exist, or might hereafter arise because of the marriage relationship of the parties or otherwise

(Emphasis added.)

After setting out the parties’ agreements for payment of debts and for division of specific items of property including automobiles, bank accounts, and the parties’ “personal property,” the stipulation continued:

[B]oth parties hereby release the other from all obligations not specifically set forth herein and that each party relin[479]*479quishes all rights of any kind not expressly provided for in this Agreement including the right of dower, or to receive a distributive share in any property now owned or in which the other party may hereafter acquire an interest and both parties release the other party for any and all other claims of any kind for which they might otherwise have the right to pursue, marriage or otherwise. It being the express intention of both parties that this Agreement shall fix and determine all rights and obligations between them, both parties waive and agree to indemnify the other party from any claims or obligations which may otherwise arise.

Thomas Sorensen died in 1982. Both Wilda (his mother), and Beverly (his former wife), claimed the proceeds of the life insurance policy. To determine the entitlement to the proceeds, Wilda filed a declaratory judgment action. Both Wilda and Beverly filed motions for summary judgment. The trial court granted Wilda a summary judgment, relying on the language of the dissolution decree extinguishing all of Beverly’s rights to any of Thomas’ property not expressly mentioned in the decree.

I. The Procedural Issue.

Beverly contends that this was not a proper case for disposition by summary judgment because the intent of the parties was a material fact which was in dispute. She had earlier asserted, however, in her own summary judgment motion, that “[tjhere is no genuine issue as to any material facts_” While the court is not obliged to find a lack of factual dispute merely because both parties assert that to be the case, we believe such assertions should weigh heavily in making that determination. Under the circumstances of this case, we believe the construction of the stipulation and decree was a matter of law and proper for disposition by summary judgment.

II. The Substantive Issue.

It is a well-established rule that divorce or dissolution per se does not void the designation of a named spouse on a life insurance policy. Lynch v. Bogenrief 237 N.W.2d 793, 797 (Iowa 1976), 44 Am.Jur.2d Insurance § 1714 (1982). On other hand, where a stipulation specifically provides for disposition of insurance proceeds, that provision is given effect. Baekgaard v. Carreiro, 237 F.2d 459, 463 (9th Cir.1956) cert. denied 352 U.S. 1004, 77 S.Ct. 564, 1 L.Ed.2d 549, Brewer v. Brewer, 239 Ark. 614, 390 S.W.2d 630 (1965), Beneficial Life Insurance Co. v. Stoddard, 95 Idaho 628, 516 P.2d 187 (1973), Romero v. Melendez, 83 N.M. 776, 498 P.2d 305 (1972), United Benefit Life Insurance Co. v. Price, 46 Wash.2d 587, 283 P.2d 119 (1955), Estate of Reynolds v. Central Life Assurance Co., 17 Wash.App. 472, 563 P.2d 1311 (1977). Our question is what effect to give language in the stipulation which attempts to “make a full, complete and final and permanent settlement” of the parties’ property rights and interests in the broad language found in this stipulation.

When the divorce or dissolution proceedings do not expressly deal with the insurance interests, the general rule is that:

[t]he wife may, upon divorce, contract away any rights in insurance on her husband’s life in which she is named as the beneficiary. General expressions or clauses in a property settlement agreement between a husband and wife, however, are not to be construed as including an assignment or renunciation of expectancies, and the beneficiary therefore retains his status under an insurance policy if it does not clearly appear from the agreement that in addition to the segregation of the property of the spouses it was intended to deprive either spouse of the right to take under an insurance contract of the other, and while the failure of the husband to exercise his power to change the beneficiary ordinarily indi--cates that he does not wish to effect such a change, each case must be decided upon its own facts.

[480]*480(footnotes omitted) 4 Couch, Couch Cyclopedia of Insurance Law § 27:114 (R. Anderson 2d ed. 1960).

The same authority offers this advice on construing such an agreement:

Whether a property settlement agreement should be deemed to bar the divorced wife is a question of the construction of the agreement itself. Where there is no provision that the effecting of the settlement agreement should deprive her of her rights as named beneficiary and she in fact remains named as beneficiary, the settlement agreement will not be given a broader scope than its express terms specify and she will not be barred from her right as the named beneficiary,

(footnote omitted) 5 Couch, supra, § 29:4. See also 2 J. Appleman & J. Appleman, Insurance Law and Practice, § 804 (1966), Annot. 70 A.L.R.3d 348 (1976), 44 Am. Jur.2d Insurance § 1714 (1982).

Some courts do not turn the issue on construction of the stipulation or decree but rather on the nature of the beneficiary’s interest.

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Sorensen v. Nelson
342 N.W.2d 477 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1984)

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Bluebook (online)
342 N.W.2d 477, 1984 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 999, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sorensen-v-nelson-iowa-1984.