No, the spouse is not. The beneficiary is named. There are laws that require the spouse to sign an acknowledgement that there is life insurance that she is not the beneficiary of.
No, the only requirement is that the beneficiary have "insurable interest".
No, in most cases you can name whoever you would like as your beneficiary. However, as part of some divorce proceedings a court will require that your ex-spouse remain a beneficiary as part of a alimony/palimony agreement.
Since IRA accounts are not governed by ERISA law as are 401(k) plans and other qualified retirement plans (such as 403(b) and others), the spouse is not required to be the default beneficiary. For those plans governed by ERISA, a spouse must either be the beneficiary of the plan or must have authorized any other beneficiary designation. IRAs (both traditional and Roth IRAs) do not have this restriction: you can name anyone you wish as the beneficiary of your IRA account.
No, but whoever you list they have to have an insurable interest such as another family member.
No.
In most cases, the spouse of the owner of an IRA is the default beneficiary. Therefore, there would be a legal document that would need to be signed acknowledging that he or she is not a beneficiary.
Generally, yes. A person must be careful to change the name of the beneficiary on their life insurance after a divorce of death of the named beneficiary. You should consult with the attorney who represented the decedent in the divorce to determine the law in your state and whether the divorce decree extinguished the ex-spouse as the beneficiary.
IF you are still the beneficiary on file for your ex-spouse then you are legally entitled to that money. If there was an updated beneficiary that lists other people as the beneficiary then you are not. On caveat is if you are listed as the beneficiary and the ex-spouse has a will in place that leaves the account to someone else, then you are not entitled.
No. The beneficiary is whoever is specifically named on the policy.
Yes the spouse of someone who is self employed can be a beneficiary of a health reimbursement arrangement. You can choose whoever you want as your beneficiary.
No.