Mo. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 461
Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 461.051 (2026)

Marriage dissolution or annulment

✓ current as of May 2026
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  461.051.  Marriage dissolution or annulment — revocation of transfer to former spouse or relative of spouse, exception — remarriage to spouse, nullification of annulment, effect, relative of the owner's spouse, defined. — 1.  If, after an owner makes a beneficiary designation, the owner's marriage is dissolved or annulled, any provision of the beneficiary designation in favor of the owner's former spouse or a relative of the owner's former spouse is revoked on the date the marriage is dissolved or annulled, whether or not the beneficiary designation refers to marital status.  The beneficiary designation shall be given effect as if the former spouse or relative of the former spouse had disclaimed the revoked provision.

  2.  Subsection 1 of this section does not apply to a provision of a beneficiary designation that has been made irrevocable, or revocable only with the spouse's consent, or that is made after the marriage was dissolved, or that expressly states that marriage dissolution shall not affect the designation of a spouse or relative of a spouse as beneficiary.

  3.  Any provision of a beneficiary designation revoked solely by this section is revived by the owner's remarriage to the former spouse or by a nullification of the marriage dissolution or annulment.

  4.  In this section, "a relative of the owner's former spouse" means an individual who is related to the owner's former spouse by blood, adoption or affinity and who, after the divorce or annulment, is not related to the owner by blood, adoption or affinity.

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(L. 1989 H.B. 145 § 34, A.L. 1995 S.B. 116)

(2001) State statute providing that designation of spouse as beneficiary of a nonprobate asset was automatically revoked upon divorce held to be invalid as preempted by Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).  Egelhoff v. Egelhoff ex rel. Breiner, 121 S.Ct. 1322, 149 L.Ed.2d 264.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2005–2024 · leading case: Est. of Merritt ex rel. Merritt v. Wachter, 428 S.W.3d 738 (Mo. Ct. App. 2014).
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Est. of Merritt ex rel. Merritt v. Wachter, 428 S.W.3d 738 (Mo. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 15× “The Estate acknowledged that Wachter remained the beneficiary of the Fidelity IRA at the time of Merritt’s death, but cited Section 461.051, RSMo 2000, in support of revoking Wachter as the beneficiary.”
Gillespie v. Est. of McPherson, 159 S.W.3d 466 (Mo. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 4× “In addition, we note the Keeton court did not address Section 461.051. We find the Estate was entitled to judgment as a matter of law by operation of Section 461.”
United Investors Life v. Wilson, 191 S.W.3d 76 (Mo. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 26× “At the time the parties’ marriage was dissolved, section 461.051 applied to life insurance policies and upon divorce a beneficiary designation on a life insurance policy made in favor of a former spouse or a relative of a former spouse was revoked upon dissolution of the…”
Scott v. Pub. Sch. Ret. Sys. of Missouri, 764 F. Supp. 2d 1151 (W.D. Mo. 2011). · cites it 20× “Mo.Rev.Stat. § 461.051. Under the plain terms of subsection 2 of section 461.”
Elliott v. St. John's Reg'l Health Ctr., 243 S.W.3d 501 (Mo. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 4× “Section 461.051 1 governs the effect that a dissolution of a marriage has on non-probate transfers to former spouses.”
Michael Grabb v. Teresa Lurinda Grabb a/k/a Terry Grabb & Amanda Huffman, Pub. Adm'r for Morgan Cnty., Missouri, Pers. Rep. of the Est. of Ronald E. Grabb (Mo. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 18× “The Petition asserted claims against Ex-Wife including, among other things, that Ex-Wife’s TD IRA beneficiary designation was automatically revoked upon divorce under subsection 1 of section 461.051 1 which provides: If, after an owner makes a beneficiary designation, the…”
In the Est. of Kevin N. Merritt, By & Through Its Duly Appointed Pers. Rep., Monique Merritt v. Rebecca L. Wachter Fid. Brokerage Servs., LLC (Mo. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 15× “The Estate acknowledged that Wachter remained the beneficiary of the Fidelity IRA at the time of Merritt‟s death, but cited Section 461.051, RSMo 2000, in support of revoking Wachter as the beneficiary.”
McWilliams v. Mayer, 548 S.W.3d 421 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 4× “Prior to 1995, DOR titles were exempt from most of the MNTL, including § 461.051's nullification of spousal TODs upon marriage dissolution.”
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