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HomeFamily CodeDiv. 6Pt. 1Ch. 3§ 2024 Marriage Dissolution Property Rights

§ 2024 Marriage Dissolution Property Rights

Family Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 2024 Marriage Dissolution Property Rights

This law says that when you get divorced or legally separated, some of your spouse's rights to your stuff (like money, property, or accounts) automatically go away, but not all of them. You need to check and update things like your will or bank accounts if you don’t want your ex-spouse to still have access.

Key Takeaways

  • •Divorce or legal separation can automatically cancel some of your ex-spouse’s rights to your stuff, like money in a bank account or property you own together.
  • •It does NOT automatically cancel your ex-spouse’s rights to your life insurance money—you have to change that yourself if you don’t want them to get it.
  • •You should check and update things like your will, bank accounts, and insurance policies after a divorce to make sure they say what you want.
  • •Some changes might need your ex-spouse’s okay or a judge’s order.

Example

A couple gets divorced, and one of them has a bank account that says the money goes to the spouse if they die.

After the divorce, the ex-spouse might not get that money anymore because the law automatically cancels some of those rights. But if the person still wants their ex-spouse to get the money, they have to update the bank account papers to say so.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 2024 Marriage Dissolution Property Rights

(a) A petition for dissolution of marriage, nullity of marriage, or legal separation of the parties, or a joint petition for summary dissolution of marriage, shall contain the following notice: “Dissolution or annulment of your marriage may automatically cancel your spouse’s rights under your will, trust, retirement benefit plan, power of attorney, pay on death bank account, transfer on death vehicle registration, survivorship rights to any property owned in joint tenancy, and any other similar thing. It does not automatically cancel your spouse’s rights as beneficiary of your life insurance policy. If these are not the results that you want, you must change your will, trust, account agreement, or other similar document to reflect your actual wishes. Dissolution or annulment of your marriage may also automatically cancel your rights under your spouse’s will, trust, retirement benefit plan, power of attorney, pay on death bank account, transfer on death vehicle registration, and survivorship rights to any property owned in joint tenancy, and any other similar thing. It does not automatically cancel your rights as beneficiary of your spouse’s life insurance policy. You should review these matters, as well as any credit cards, other credit accounts, insurance policies, retirement benefit plans, and credit reports to determine whether they should be changed or whether you should take any other actions in view of the dissolution or annulment of your marriage, or your legal separation. However, some changes may require the agreement of your spouse or a court order (see Part 3 (commencing with Section 231) of Division 2 of the Family Code).” (b) A judgment for dissolution of marriage, for nullity of marriage, or for legal separation of the parties shall contain the following notice: “Dissolution or annulment of your marriage may automatically cancel your spouse’s rights under your will, trust, retirement benefit plan, power of attorney, pay on death bank account, transfer on death vehicle registration, survivorship rights to any property owned in joint tenancy, and any other similar thing. It does not automatically cancel your spouse’s rights as beneficiary of your life insurance policy. If these are not the results that you want, you must change your will, trust, account agreement, or other similar document to reflect your actual wishes. Dissolution or annulment of your marriage may also automatically cancel your rights under your spouse’s will, trust, retirement benefit plan, power of attorney, pay on death bank account, transfer on death vehicle registration, survivorship rights to any property owned in joint tenancy, and any other similar thing. It does not automatically cancel your rights as beneficiary of your spouse’s life insurance policy. You should review these matters, as well as any credit cards, other credit accounts, insurance policies, retirement benefit plans, and credit reports to determine whether they should be changed or whether you should take any other actions in view of the dissolution or annulment of your marriage, or your legal separation.” (Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 417, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2002.)

Last verified: January 9, 2026

Key Terms

dissolution of marriagenullity of marriagelegal separationwilltrustretirement benefit planpower of attorneypay on death bank accounttransfer on death vehicle registrationsurvivorship rightsjoint tenancylife insurance policy

Related Statutes

  • § 1841 Family Court Reconciliation Transfer
  • § 2024.6 Financial Records Sealing Request
  • § 2024.7 Health Coverage Notice Requirement
  • § 1840 Marriage Conciliation Waiting Period
  • § 1842 Spousal Conciliation Without Children

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Family Code. Section 2024.
View Official Source