Are Beneficiary Designations Protected in Alabama?
Alabama automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceAla. Code § 30-4-17Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
A beneficiary designation on life insurance, a retirement account, a payable-on-death bank account or a transfer-on-death brokerage account decides who receives that asset at death, in Alabama as everywhere. The designation controls over the will or trust, and an outdated one stays in force whatever the other documents say.
Yes. Alabama automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary on divorce for these asset types: life insurance, retirement accounts, pod accounts, tod accounts, annuitiesAla. Code § 30-4-17Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. An ERISA-governed employer plan (a 401(k), a pension) follows federal law instead and must be updated by hand whatever the state rule says.
Yes. The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempts state law for an employer-sponsored plan such as a 401(k), a pension or group life insurance: the plan pays the designation on file with the plan administrator, and a qualified plan requires the spouse's consent to name anyone else (Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 2001; Kennedy v. Plan Administrator, 2009). Alabama sets no spousal-consent requirement of its own for an individual account.
Alabama provides no specific creditor protection for inherited IRAsAla. Code § 19-3B-508(g)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. After Clark v. Rameker (2014) held that federal bankruptcy law does not protect an inherited IRA, a state without its own statute leaves it exposed in bankruptcy.
No. Alabama does not default to per stirpes for beneficiary designationsAla. Code § 43-8-224 (anti-lapse, wills only); § 43-8-222; § 5-24-12; §§ 8-6-146, 8-6-149Verified Sep 15, 2026View source: when a named beneficiary dies before the account holder, the share lapses unless the designation says per stirpes or names a contingent beneficiary.
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Divorce
What divorce does and does not undo: beneficiary designations, your will, powers of attorney, and the one account your ex stays on until you change it.
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Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
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Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
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Serious Diagnosis
A serious diagnosis changes priorities. Healthcare proxies, financial powers of attorney, and the documents that ensure your wishes are honored.
Learn moreForms for Planning Your Estate in Alabama
Free forms for planning your estate in Alabama: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
Last Will and Testament
In Alabama, a will is signed before 2Ala. Code § 43-8-131Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyAla. Code § 43-8-131Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Alabama requires 2Ala. Code § 22-8A-4(h)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses for a healthcare power of attorney; notarization is not requiredAla. Code § 22-8A-4(h)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source.
Financial Power of Attorney
Alabama treats a power of attorney as durable by defaultAla. Code § 26-1A-101 et seq. (esp. §§ 26-1A-104, -105, -106, -107, -109, -113, -119, -201, -217, -301); § 26-1-1 (age of majority); § 35-4-28 (recording); §§ 19-1A-9, -10 (digital assets)Verified Sep 18, 2026View source, and it is signed with no witness or notary requirementAla. Code § 26-1A-101 et seq. (esp. §§ 26-1A-104, -105, -106, -107, -109, -113, -119, -201, -217, -301); § 26-1-1 (age of majority); § 35-4-28 (recording); §§ 19-1A-9, -10 (digital assets)Verified Sep 18, 2026View source.
Living Will
In Alabama, the living will is the Advance Directive for Health CareAla. Code Title 22, Ch. 8A (Natural Death Act), §§ 22-8A-1 to 22-8A-18; § 22-8A-4Verified Sep 27, 2026View source, a written instruction that is valid with no agent named.
Tools for Planning Your Estate in Alabama
Free tools for planning your estate in Alabama: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Alabama runs $3,840Estimate: 10 hours at $384, Clio's Alabama Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,760Estimate: 15 hours at $384, Clio's Alabama Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $834Estimate: 3 hours at $278, Clio's Alabama Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,668Estimate: 6 hours at $278, Clio's Alabama Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In Alabama, four years at a public university cost about $88,816NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is 11% below the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesNo state estate or inheritance tax. The Ala. Code Title 40, Ch. 15 estate tax (§ 40-15-2) is a federal-credit "pickup" tax — still codified, but levied "only ... to the extent of absorbing" the federal state death tax credit, so it has computed to $0 since Congress eliminated that credit. Alabama has no separate inheritance tax and no gift tax, and the Alabama Department of Revenue confirms estates with a date of death after Dec. 31, 2004 are not required to file.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Alabama costs an estimated $23,489Ala. Code § 43-2-682 (court fixes reasonable attorney fees at settlement)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 1.6%Ala. Code § 43-2-682 (court fixes reasonable attorney fees at settlement)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.5%Ala. Code § 43-2-682 (court fixes reasonable attorney fees at settlement)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in Alabama, a surviving spouse takes the first $50,000 plus half of the restAla. Code § 43-8-41Verified Sep 10, 2026View source when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per capita with representationAla. Code § 43-8-45Verified Sep 10, 2026View source.
How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in Alabama runs $3,840Estimate: 10 hours at $384, Clio's Alabama Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,760Estimate: 15 hours at $384, Clio's Alabama Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Does a Will Cost?
An attorney-prepared will in Alabama runs $834Estimate: 3 hours at $278, Clio's Alabama Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,668Estimate: 6 hours at $278, Clio's Alabama Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $299 up front with an online service, and probate on a $500,000 estate adds about $23,489Ala. Code § 43-2-682 (court fixes reasonable attorney fees at settlement)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
How Does SimplyTrust Compare to LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and Other Services?
Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.
How Do I Name a Guardian for My Minor Children?
In Alabama, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a will or a separate signed writingCode of Ala. §§ 26-2A-71, 26-2A-72, 26-2A-73Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 19Code of Ala. § 26-1-1; § 26-2A-20(11)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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Alabama Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering Alabama probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.