Are Beneficiary Designations Protected in District of Columbia?
District of Columbia does not revoke an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceNoneVerified 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 District of Columbia as everywhere. The designation controls over the will or trust, and an outdated one stays in force whatever the other documents say.
No. District of Columbia does not automatically revoke an ex-spouse as beneficiary on divorceNoneVerified Sep 15, 2026View source. Every designation on life insurance, a retirement account and the other assets is updated by hand after a divorce, or the ex-spouse still receives the asset.
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). District of Columbia sets no spousal-consent requirement of its own for an individual account.
District of Columbia gives inherited IRAs partial protection from creditorsD.C. Code § 15-501(a)(9)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; the reach can depend on whether the IRA came from a spouse and whether the case is in state or federal court. After Clark v. Rameker (2014), federal bankruptcy law does not protect an inherited IRA on its own.
No. District of Columbia does not default to per stirpes for beneficiary designationsD.C. Code §§ 19-602.12, 19-603.07, 19-603.10, 19-604.13; § 18-308Verified 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.
Is this your situation?
Get a complete guide for your specific circumstances.
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.
Learn more
Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
Learn more
Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
Learn more
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 District of Columbia
Free forms for planning your estate in District of Columbia: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
Last Will and Testament
In District of Columbia, a will is signed before 2D.C. Code § 18-103Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and the witnesses sign an affidavit at probate instead of a self-proving affidavitD.C. Code § 18-103Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
District of Columbia requires 2DC Code § 21-2207Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses for a healthcare power of attorney; notarization is not requiredDC Code § 21-2207Verified Oct 15, 2026View source.
Financial Power of Attorney
District of Columbia treats a power of attorney as durable by defaultD.C. Code §§ 21-2601.04, 21-2601.05, 21-2601.06, 21-2601.09, 21-2601.13, 21-2601.14, 21-2601.19, 21-2601.20, 21-2602.01, 21-2602.17, 21-2603.01, 21-2603.03Verified Sep 18, 2026View source, and it is signed before a notaryD.C. Code §§ 21-2601.04, 21-2601.05, 21-2601.06, 21-2601.09, 21-2601.13, 21-2601.14, 21-2601.19, 21-2601.20, 21-2602.01, 21-2602.17, 21-2603.01, 21-2603.03Verified Sep 18, 2026View source.
Transfer on Death Deed
In District of Columbia, a transfer on death deed is signed before a notaryD.C. Code 19-604.01 to 19-604.19Verified Oct 18, 2026View source, then recorded with the county before the owner's deathD.C. Code 19-604.01 to 19-604.19Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Vehicle Transfer on Death
Name a beneficiary to inherit your vehicle at death without probate. Available in 26 states and the District of Columbia.
Living Will
In District of Columbia, the living will is the DeclarationD.C. Code Title 7, Ch. 6, Subch. II (Natural Death Act of 1981, D.C. Law 4-69), §§ 7-621 to 7-630Verified Sep 27, 2026View source, a document of its own, apart from the healthcare power of attorney.
Tools for Planning Your Estate in District of Columbia
Free tools for planning your estate in District of Columbia: 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 District of Columbia runs $3,820Estimate: 10 hours at $382, Clio's District of Columbia Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,730Estimate: 15 hours at $382, Clio's District of Columbia Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $1,041Estimate: 3 hours at $347, Clio's District of Columbia Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,082Estimate: 6 hours at $347, Clio's District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia, four years at a public university cost about $24,608NCES 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 10% above the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; the state levies an estate taxD.C. Code § 47-3702Verified Sep 15, 2026View source above $4,988,400D.C. Code § 47-3702Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in District of Columbia costs an estimated $26,493D.C. Code § 20-753 (reasonableness review of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 2%D.C. Code § 20-753 (reasonableness review of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.1%D.C. Code § 20-753 (reasonableness review of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in District of Columbia, a surviving spouse takes the first $0 plus two-thirds of the restD.C. Code § 19-302Verified Sep 10, 2026View source when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per stirpesD.C. Code § 19-307Verified Sep 10, 2026View source.
How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in District of Columbia runs $3,820Estimate: 10 hours at $382, Clio's District of Columbia Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,730Estimate: 15 hours at $382, Clio's District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia runs $1,041Estimate: 3 hours at $347, Clio's District of Columbia Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,082Estimate: 6 hours at $347, Clio's District of Columbia 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 $26,493D.C. Code § 20-753 (reasonableness review of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage)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 District of Columbia, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a will or a separate signed writingD.C. Code §§ 21-102, 21-103(a), 21-105 (estate, by deed or will), 21-101(b), 21-107Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18D.C. Code § 46-101; see also § 21-104Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
When you're ready, we're here.
District of Columbia Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering District of Columbia probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.