Who inherits in the following case:

John is the secondary beneficiary of his father's IRA. His mother was listed as primary beneficiary when the IRA was opened 12 years ago. His parents divorced 6 years ago and haven't spoken since. The beneficiary designation on the IRA was never changed. The divorce decree was issued in the state of Tennessee and specifically states: "Each party hereby waives any and all interest or claim to the retirement account, etc. of the other party, and by execution hereof each party expressly waives such interest or claim." Unfortunately John's father is recently deceased. Does the divorce decree negate the mother's (ex-spouse) status as primary beneficiary which means John inherits the IRA as secondary beneficiary?

My non-legally trained opinion:

Assuming that the wife signed the divorce decree, you have in writing that she waived rights to these assets. You stated that the DD is more recent than the IRA. If, however, the deceased changed the account/custodian or did a conversion after the divorce and did not correct the beneficiary then someone might argue that the bene was proactively left the form wife.... 'cause he was such a nice guy....

Get a good lawyer. The custodian will probably not act until they get a clear court ruling.

U need to retain counsel to determine the following:

1. Does Tn law automatically remove an ex spouse as an IRA beneficiary? Some states Cal, HI, WA have such laws.

2. Is an ex spouse automatically removed as a beneficiary under the IRA custodial agreement-- Need to review the agreement. Some custodians provide for automatic removal unless otherwise notified after divorce by the owner.

3. How to interpret the language u cited. Does it pertain to IRAs or just employer provided benefits.

I agree with both John G and mbozek, it is a Tn state law question. Should be easily answered by the father's divorce attorney.

Many states have statutes negating the spouses status from a divorce. This type of situation is a good lesson for reviewing everything owned after a divorce.