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Direct answer: A beneficiary designation is the form that names who gets an account when you die. For 401(k)s, IRAs, life insurance, TSP and POD or TOD accounts, that form generally beats your will. Check every account after marriage, divorce, a birth or a death.
By the numbers: 26 states have adopted revocation-on-divorce laws that can cancel a beneficiary designation to a former spouse. Source: U.S. Supreme Court, Sveen v. Melin (2018)
“A TOD controls who inherits your assets when you die. It supersedes a will or trust.” — FINRA (Jan. 17, 2023)
Updated 2026-10-22
Generally yes. FINRA says a TOD or other beneficiary document supersedes your will, and TSP says a will can't name or change a TSP beneficiary. The account goes to the person on the form, even if the will says otherwise.
Only with your spouse's written consent. Federal law (29 U.S.C. 1055) generally requires a 401(k) to pay your spouse at death unless the spouse consents in writing, witnessed by a plan representative or a notary.
Not always. For 401(k)s and other ERISA plans, the plan pays whoever is on its form, even after divorce (Egelhoff, Kennedy). Federal TSP and FEGLI work the same way. Some states revoke an ex-spouse on other accounts by law (Sveen v. Melin). File new forms after a divorce.
The account follows its own default rules. TSP and FEGLI pay your spouse first, then children, parents, your estate's executor, then next of kin. For 401(k)s and IRAs the plan or IRA terms decide, and money that lands in your estate can go through probate.
Yes, but the NAIC says insurance companies won't pay a minor directly; a court-appointed guardian or a custodian or trust usually has to receive the money, which takes time and costs money.
For deaths in 2020 or later, most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty it by Dec. 31 of the 10th year after the death. If the owner had reached the required beginning date, yearly withdrawals are also required starting 2025. Spouses, minor children, disabled or chronically ill people and those not more than 10 years younger have other options.
Generally no. The IRS says life insurance proceeds received because of the insured person's death aren't included in gross income, but any interest paid on them is taxable.
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As of Oct. 22, 2026
The beneficiary form usually wins over your will. 401(k)s, IRAs, life insurance, TSP, and POD or TOD accounts go to whoever is named on the account's own form. After a divorce, an ex-spouse can still get your 401(k), TSP or FEGLI if you don't file a new form. Married? Your spouse must consent in writing before you name anyone else on a 401(k).
The math:
Sources: FINRA · 29 U.S.C. 1055 · TSP.gov · IRS Pub. 590-B
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| Account | Who decides | Spouse's rights | Divorce, minors and surprises | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 401(k), 403(b) and other employer plans (ERISA) | The plan's beneficiary form | Spouse generally gets it unless the spouse signed a written consent witnessed by a notary or plan representative | Plan pays whoever is on its form; state divorce laws don't change that, and a divorce decree waiver didn't either. Splitting it in a divorce takes a QDRO | 29 U.S.C. 1055 · Egelhoff (2001) · Kennedy (2009) |
| IRA (traditional or Roth) | The IRA custodian's beneficiary form | The 29 U.S.C. 1055 spousal-consent rule covers employer plans. In the 9 community property states, state property law can still matter | The IRA agreement's default applies if no one is named; ask the custodian | IRS Pub. 590-B · IRS Pub. 555 |
| Life insurance | The insurer's beneficiary form | No federal spousal-consent rule for individual policies (employer group life can be an ERISA plan) | 26 states have laws that revoke an ex-spouse on divorce (Sveen v. Melin); the policyholder can rename them. Insurers won't pay a minor directly | Sveen v. Melin (2018) · NAIC Buyer's Guide · IRS life insurance FAQ |
| Bank account (POD, payable on death) | Beneficiaries named in the bank's records | Bank's account terms | FDIC insures POD money up to $250,000 per beneficiary, max 5 ($1,250,000) per owner per bank | FDIC coverage checker |
| Brokerage account (TOD, transfer on death) | The brokerage's TOD registration | State law governs TOD registration; firms decide whether to offer it | Supersedes your will: if the will splits the account between two children but the TOD names one, that child alone gets it | FINRA · Investor.gov |
| Federal TSP | Form TSP-3 or My Account; one witness age 21+; must reach TSP before death | Witness can't be a beneficiary; primary shares must add up to 100% | A will, prenup, separation agreement, property settlement or court order won't override the form or the order of precedence | TSP.gov · 5 CFR 1651 |
| Federal life insurance (FEGLI) | SF 2823; two witnesses who aren't beneficiaries; must reach your HR office (or OPM if retired) before death | Order of precedence pays the widow(er) only if no one is named | The ex-wife still named on FEGLI got the money (Hillman v. Maretta). OPM: if you marry or divorce, complete a new form | OPM SF 2823 · OPM · Hillman v. Maretta (2013) |
Community property states (IRS Pub. 555): Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
TSP and FEGLI pay in this order set by law when there's no valid form on file (TSP.gov · OPM SF 2823):
FEGLI pays a valid court order on file before this list. For 401(k)s and IRAs there's no single federal list: the plan document or IRA agreement says who gets it. In Kennedy, DuPont's plan paid the estate's executor or administrator when there was no surviving spouse and no designation (Kennedy (2009)).
| Who inherits (deaths 2020+) | Rule |
|---|---|
| Surviving spouse | Can treat it as their own IRA or roll it over, or keep it as inherited and take life-expectancy withdrawals (or the 10-year rule if the owner died before the required beginning date) |
| Owner's child under 21 | Life-expectancy withdrawals until 21 (the age of majority in the 2024 regulations), then the rest within 10 years |
| Disabled or chronically ill, or not more than 10 years younger than the owner | Life-expectancy withdrawals (or the 10-year rule if the owner died before the required beginning date) |
| Anyone else (adult children, grandchildren, siblings, friends) | Empty by Dec. 31 of the 10th year after the death. If the owner had reached the required beginning date, a yearly minimum is also due (required from 2025) |
| Estate, charity, most trusts | Owner died before the required beginning date: empty within 5 years. On or after: yearly withdrawals over the owner's remaining life expectancy |
Sources: IRS Pub. 590-B · IRS Beneficiary page · IRS RMD FAQs · 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9) · IRS Notice 2024-35. Roth IRAs follow these rules as if the owner died before the required beginning date, so there's no yearly minimum under the 10-year rule. Required withdrawals start at 73 for owners (Pub. 590-B, 2025).
For deaths in 2020 or later. Nothing you type leaves your phone.
IRS rules from Pub. 590-B and the 2024 final regulations. If several people share one account, or a trust is named, the rules can differ; the IRA custodian or plan administrator applies them to your account.
Facts only, not legal or tax advice. Rules come from federal law, Supreme Court opinions, IRS publications and agency forms, read on the dates below. State law varies for wills, community property and revocation on divorce; an estate attorney in your state can apply it to your family. Examples are illustrations, not anyone's real account.
Generally yes. FINRA says a TOD or other beneficiary document supersedes your will, and TSP says a will can't name or change a TSP beneficiary. The account goes to the person on the form, even if the will says otherwise.
Only with your spouse's written consent. Federal law (29 U.S.C. 1055) generally requires a 401(k) to pay your spouse at death unless the spouse consents in writing, witnessed by a plan representative or a notary.
Not always. For 401(k)s and other ERISA plans, the plan pays whoever is on its form, even after divorce (Egelhoff, Kennedy). Federal TSP and FEGLI work the same way. Some states revoke an ex-spouse on other accounts by law (Sveen v. Melin). File new forms after a divorce.
The account follows its own default rules. TSP and FEGLI pay your spouse first, then children, parents, your estate's executor, then next of kin. For 401(k)s and IRAs the plan or IRA terms decide, and money that lands in your estate can go through probate.
Yes, but the NAIC says insurance companies won't pay a minor directly; a court-appointed guardian or a custodian or trust usually has to receive the money, which takes time and costs money.
For deaths in 2020 or later, most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty it by Dec. 31 of the 10th year after the death. If the owner had reached the required beginning date, yearly withdrawals are also required starting 2025. Spouses, minor children, disabled or chronically ill people and those not more than 10 years younger have other options.
Generally no. The IRS says life insurance proceeds received because of the insured person's death aren't included in gross income, but any interest paid on them is taxable.
Education only, not legal or tax advice. Laws and benefit rules come from state statutes, courts and federal agencies with dates; talk with a licensed attorney in your state before you act.