AB 1209

This bill provides that before a court enters a judgment of annulment, divorce,

or legal separation, the court must provide each of the parties to the action with

notice in plain language of statutory provisions under which a divorce, annulment,

or similar event effects, with certain exceptions, an automatic revocation of certain

provisions from a former spouse or domestic partner.

Under current law, a divorce, annulment, or similar event automatically does

all of the following: 1) revokes any revocable disposition of property made by one

spouse to the former spouse or a relative of the former spouse in a governing

instrument; 2) revokes any disposition created by law to the former spouse or a

relative of the former spouse; 3) revokes any revocable provision made by the spouse

in a governing instrument conferring a power of appointment on the former spouse

or a relative of the former spouse; 4) revokes the spouse's revocable nomination of the

former spouse or a relative of the former spouse to serve in any fiduciary or

representative capacity; and 5) severs the interests of a spouse and former spouse in

property held by them as joint tenants with the right of survivorship or as

survivorship marital property and transforms the interests of the spouse and former

spouse into tenancies in common. Certain exceptions to these provisions may apply

if the parties have a marital property agreement, and the automatic revocation

provisions do not apply if the express terms of a governing instrument, court order,

or contract relating to the division of the spouse's and former spouse's property made

between the spouse and the former spouse provide otherwise; if the divorce,

annulment, or similar event is nullified; if the spouse and former spouse have

remarried or entered into a new domestic partnership before the death of the spouse;

or if the transfer is made under a governing instrument and the person who executed

the governing instrument had an intent contrary to any of the automatic revocation

provisions.