HOUSE BILL NO. 4791
June 15, 2023, Introduced by Reps. Young and Morgan and referred to the Committee on
Government Operations.
A bill to amend 1909 PA 259, entitled
"An act to provide that judgments of divorce and judgments of
separate maintenance shall make provision in satisfaction of the
claims of the wife in the property of the husband and in
satisfaction of the claims of the husband and wife in contracts of
insurance and annuity upon the life of the husband or wife, and in
satisfaction of claims of the husband and wife in or to any
pension, annuity, retirement allowance, or accumulated
contributions in any pension, annuity, or retirement system,
including any rights or contingent rights in and to unvested
pension, annuity, or retirement benefits; and to change the tenure
of lands owned by husband and wife in case of divorce, and to
provide for the disposition or partition of such lands or the
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proceeds thereof,"
by amending sections 1 and 2 (MCL 552.101 and 552.102), section 1
as amended by 2016 PA 378.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 1. (1) Each A judgment of divorce or judgment of separate
2 maintenance shall must determine all rights of the wife a spouse in
3 and to the proceeds of any policy or contract of life insurance,
4 endowment, or annuity upon on the life of the husband his or her
5 spouse in which the wife spouse was named or designated as
6 beneficiary, or to which the wife spouse became entitled by
7 assignment or change of beneficiary during the marriage or in
8 anticipation of marriage. If the judgment of divorce or judgment of
9 separate maintenance does not determine the rights of the wife
10 spouse in and to a policy of life insurance, endowment, or annuity,
11 the policy shall be is payable to the estate of the husband his or
12 her spouse or to the named beneficiary if the husband his or her
13 spouse so designates. The company issuing the policy is discharged
14 of all liability on the policy by payment of its proceeds in
15 accordance with the terms of the policy unless before the payment
16 the company receives written notice, by or on behalf of the insured
17 or the estate of the insured, 1 of the heirs of the insured, or any
18 other person having an interest in the policy, of a claim under the
19 policy and the divorce.
20 (2) Each judgment of divorce or judgment of separate
21 maintenance shall determine all rights of the husband in and to the
22 proceeds of any policy or contract of life insurance, endowment, or
23 annuity upon the life of the wife in which the husband was named or
24 designated as beneficiary, or to which he became entitled by
25 assignment or change of beneficiary during the marriage or in
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1 anticipation of marriage. If the judgment of divorce or judgment of
2 separate maintenance does not determine the rights of the husband
3 in and to the policy of life insurance, endowment, or annuity, the
4 policy shall be payable to the estate of the wife, or to the named
5 beneficiary if the wife so designates. The company issuing the
6 policy is discharged of all liability on the policy by payment of
7 the proceeds in accordance with the terms of the policy unless
8 before the payment the company receives written notice, by or on
9 behalf of the insured or the estate of the insured, 1 of the heirs
10 of the insured, or any other person having an interest in the
11 policy, of a claim under the policy and the divorce.
12 (2) (3) Each judgment of divorce or judgment of separate
13 maintenance shall determine all rights, including any contingent
14 rights, of the husband and wife spouses in and to all of the
15 following:
16 (a) Any vested pension, annuity, or retirement benefits.
17 (b) Any accumulated contributions in any pension, annuity, or
18 retirement system.
19 (c) In accordance with section 18 of 1846 RS 84, MCL 552.18,
20 any unvested pension, annuity, or retirement benefits.
21 (3) (4) For any divorce or separate maintenance action filed
22 on or after September 1, 2006, if a judgment of divorce or judgment
23 of separate maintenance provides for the assignment of any rights
24 in and to any pension, annuity, or retirement benefits, a
25 proportionate share of all components of the pension, annuity, or
26 retirement benefits shall must be included in the assignment unless
27 the judgment of divorce or judgment of separate maintenance
28 expressly excludes 1 or more components. Components include, but
29 are not limited to, supplements, subsidies, early retirement
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1 benefits, postretirement benefit increases, surviving spouse
2 benefits, and death benefits. This subsection applies regardless of
3 the characterization of the pension, annuity, or retirement benefit
4 as regular retirement, early retirement, disability retirement,
5 death benefit, or any other characterization or classification,
6 unless the judgment of divorce or judgment of separate maintenance
7 expressly excludes a particular characterization or classification.
8 Sec. 2. Every husband and wife owning On being divorced,
9 spouses who own real estate as joint tenants or as tenants by
10 entireties shall, upon being divorced, become tenants in common of
11 such the real estate, unless the ownership thereof of the real
12 estate is otherwise determined by the decree judgment of divorce.
13 Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect
14 unless Senate Joint Resolution ____ or House Joint Resolution F
15 (request no. 00367'23) of the 102nd Legislature becomes a part of
16 the state constitution of 1963 as provided in section 1 of article
17 XII of the state constitution of 1963.
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Statutes affected: House Introduced Bill: 552.101, 552.102