§ 598.20B — Beneficiary revocation — other contracts

Iowa § 598.20B

• Jurisdiction: Iowa
• Title XV: JUDICIAL BRANCH AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURES
• Ch. 598: DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS

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1. Except as preempted by federal law, if a decree of dissolution, annulment, or separate
maintenance is issued after a participant, annuitant, or account holder has designated
the participant’s, annuitant’s, or account holder’s spouse or one or more relatives of the
participant’s, annuitant’s, or account holder’s spouse as beneficiary under any individual
retirement account, stock option plan, transfer on death account, payable on death account,
or annuity in force at the date of the decree, a provision in the retirement account, stock
option plan, transfer on death account, payable on death account, or annuity designating
the participant’s, annuitant’s, or account holder’s spouse or one or more relatives of the
§598.20B, DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS 12
participant’s, annuitant’s, or account holder’s spouse as beneficiary is voided by the issuance
of the decree unless any of the following apply:
a. The decree designates the participant’s, annuitant’s, or account holder’s spouse or one
or more relatives of the participant’s, annuitant’s, or account holder’s spouse as beneficiary.
b. After issuance of the decree, the participant, annuitant, or account holder executes a
designation of beneficiary form provided by the plan or company naming the participant’s,
annuitant’s, or account holder’s former spouse or one or more relatives of the participant’s,
annuitant’s, or account holder’s former spouse as the beneficiary.
c. The participant, annuitant, or account holder and the participant’s, annuitant’s, or
account holder’s former spouse remarry.
d. Prior to the issuance of the decree, annuity payments have irrevocably commenced
based on the joint life expectancies of the participant, annuitant, or account holder and the
participant’s, annuitant’s, or account holder’s former spouse.
2. If a beneficiary designation is not effective pursuant to subsection 1, the benefits
or proceeds from the individual retirement account, stock option plan, transfer on death
account, payable on death account, or annuity are payable to an alternate beneficiary, or if
there is no alternate beneficiary, to the estate of the participant, annuitant, or account holder.
3. A business entity, employer, insurer, financial institution, or other person or entity
obligated to pay the benefits or proceeds from an individual retirement account, stock option
plan, transfer on death account, payable on death account, or annuity to a beneficiary under
a designation that is void pursuant to subsection 1 is not liable for payment of the benefits or
proceeds to a beneficiary as provided under subsection 2 unless both of the following apply:
a. At least ten days prior to payment of the benefits or proceeds to the designated
beneficiary, the business entity, employer, insurer, financial institution, or other person or
entity obligated to pay the benefits or proceeds receives written notice at the home office of
the business entity, employer, insurer, financial institution, or other person or entity that the
designation of the beneficiary is not effective pursuant to subsection 1.
b. Thebusinessentity,employer,insurer,financialinstitution,orotherpersonorentityhas
failedtointerpleadthebenefitsorproceedsinacourtofcompetentjurisdictioninaccordance
with the rules of civil procedure.
4. Thissectiondoesnotlimittherightofabeneficiarytoseekrecoveryfromanypersonor
entitythaterroneouslyreceivesorcollectsthebenefitsorproceedsofanindividualretirement
account, stock option plan, transfer on death account, payable on death account, or annuity.
5. This section does not affect the right of the participant’s, annuitant’s, or account
holder’s former spouse to assert an ownership interest in an individual retirement account,
stock option plan, transfer or payable on death account, or annuity that is not disclosed to
the participant’s, annuitant’s, or account holder’s spouse prior to the issuance of the decree
of dissolution, annulment, or separate maintenance and that is not addressed by the decree.
6. For purposes of this section, “relative of the participant’s, annuitant’s, or account
holder’s spouse” means a person who is related to the participant’s, annuitant’s, or account
holder’s former spouse by blood, adoption, or affinity, and who, subsequent to a decree of
dissolution, annulment, or separate maintenance ceases to be related to the participant,
annuitant, or account holder by blood, adoption, or affinity.