Ex-Wife Denied Late Husband’s Life Guardian Insurance Benefits

The ex-wife of a Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America policyholder can’t claim his benefits even though she’s a listed beneficiary in his policy, the First Circuit held Thursday.

Massachusetts law revokes a former spouse’s beneficiary status at the time of divorce. The ex-wife’s arguments that she should be an exception from the law “demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding” of the court’s previous holding in her case and of her “obligations as a plaintiff,” Judge Lara Montecalvo wrote for the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Renee Sevelitte, the ex-wife of Joseph Sevelitte, claimed she was entitled to $75,000 ...