A quick note about life insurance beneficiary status in the state of Washington. My ex-husband also left me listed as the life insurance beneficiary for the same reason stated above, to protect our child. In this state, if a spouse is named beneficiary prior to divorce, and the policy holder...
My former spouse and I have been divorced 12 years. Upon our divorce, we both were ordered to "keep" our own 401k accounts. He never changed his beneficiary designation afterward, due to the fact we have a child. (No order in our divorce decree for this designation, it was just his choice)...