I'm not sure...but I just talked to a colleague who says the beneficiary designation becomes a "contractual" right to receive proceeds when it is made...whether the insurance was purchased before or after marriage...and all contractual rights are enjoined by the injunction. Here is where it gets a little confusing...the right to recieve proceeds is different from the issue of whether or not the policy itself is marital property and subject to division before the death of the insured. Classification is not uniform , and some states use inception of title rules and initial premium payments irregardless of any subsequent marital funds used to pay premiums. Other states consider subsequent marital contributions. Then cash values, surrender values, or replacement values can be used to determine value for division. In the case of clients who are deathly ill viatical settlement offers can be considered. In any case, if the policy is determined to be marital and the spouse is not named benficiary...they have a claim to an equitable portion of the proceeds. Help from and insurance expert here would be much appreciated.