(1) An individual who is divorced from the decedent or whose marriage to the decedent has been annulled is not a surviving spouse unless, by virtue of a subsequent marriage, he or she is married to the decedent at the time of death. A decree of separation that does not terminate the status of married couple is not a divorce for purposes of this section.

    (2) For purposes of parts 1 to 4 of this article and of section 3203, a surviving spouse does not include any of the following:

    (a) An individual who obtains or consents to a final decree or judgment of divorce from the decedent or an annulment of their marriage, which decree or judgment is not recognized as valid in this state, unless they subsequently participate in a marriage ceremony purporting to marry each to the other or live together as a married couple.

    (b) An individual who, following an invalid decree or judgment of divorce or annulment obtained by the decedent, participates in a marriage ceremony with a third individual.

    (c) An individual who was a party to a valid proceeding concluded by an order purporting to terminate all marital property rights.

    (d) An individual who, at the time of the decedent's death, is living in a bigamous relationship with another individual.

    (e) An individual who did any of the following for 1 year or more before the death of the deceased person:

    (i) Was willfully absent from the decedent spouse.

    (ii) Deserted the decedent spouse.

    (iii) Willfully neglected or refused to provide support for the decedent spouse if required to do so by law.

    (3) For purposes of section 3206, a surviving spouse does not include either of the following:

    (a) An individual described in subsection (2)(a) to (d).

    (b) An individual who is a party to a divorce or annulment proceeding with the decedent at the time of the decedent's death.

    As used in this section and sections 2803 and 2804:

    (a) "Abuse, neglect, or exploitation" means an act, the commission of which is a felony, under any of the following:

    (i) An act that constitutes child abuse under section 136b of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.136b.

    (ii) A criminal act that is an offense under chapter XXA of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.145m to 750.145r.

    (iii) A violation of section 174a of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.174a.

    (iv) A criminal act that is an offense involving domestic violence as that term is defined in section 27b of chapter VIII of the code of criminal procedure, 1927 PA 175, MCL 768.27b.

    (v) A criminal act that constitutes abuse, neglect, or exploitation as those terms are defined in section 11 of the social welfare act, 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.11.

    (b) "Disposition or appointment of property" includes, but is not limited to, a transfer of an item of property or another benefit to a beneficiary designated in a governing instrument.

    (c) "Felon" means the individual who was convicted of committing the abuse, neglect, or exploitation.

    (d) "Governing instrument" means a governing instrument executed by the decedent.

    (e) "Revocable" means, with respect to a disposition, appointment, provision, or nomination, one under which the decedent, at the time of or immediately before death, was alone empowered, by law or under the governing instrument, to cancel the designation in favor of the killer or felon, whether or not the decedent was then empowered to designate himself or herself in place of his or her killer or felon and whether or not the decedent then had the capacity to exercise the power.

    (1) An individual who feloniously and intentionally kills or who is convicted of committing abuse, neglect, or exploitation with respect to the decedent forfeits all benefits under this article with respect to the decedent's estate, including an intestate share, an elective share, an omitted spouse's or child's share, a homestead allowance, a family allowance, and exempt property. If the decedent died intestate, the decedent's intestate estate passes as if the killer or felon disclaimed his or her intestate share.

    (2) The felonious and intentional killing or the conviction of the felon for the abuse, neglect, or exploitation of the decedent does all of the following:

    (a) Revokes all of the following that are revocable:

    (i) Disposition or appointment of property made by the decedent to the killer or felon in a governing instrument.

    (ii) Provision in a governing instrument conferring a general or nongeneral power of appointment on the killer or felon.

    (iii) Nomination of the killer or felon in a governing instrument, nominating or appointing the killer or felon to serve in a fiduciary or representative capacity, including a personal representative, executor, funeral representative, trustee, or agent.

    (b) Severs the interests of the decedent and killer or felon in property held by them at the time of the killing, abuse, neglect, or exploitation as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, transforming the interests of the decedent and killer or felon into tenancies in common.

    (c) Bars the killer or felon from exercising a power under section 3206(1).

    (3) A severance under subsection (2)(b) does not affect a third party interest in property acquired for value and in good faith reliance on an apparent title by survivorship in the killer or felon unless a writing declaring the severance has been noted, registered, filed, or recorded in records appropriate to the kind and location of the property that are relied on, in the ordinary course of transactions involving that type of property, as evidence of ownership.

    (4) A provision of a governing instrument is given effect as if the killer or felon disclaimed all provisions revoked by this section or, for a revoked nomination in a fiduciary or representative capacity, as if the killer or felon predeceased the decedent.

    (5) A killer's or felon's wrongful acquisition of property or interest not covered by this section must be treated in accordance with the principle that a killer or felon cannot profit from his or her wrong.

    (6) After all right to appeal has been exhausted, a judgment of conviction establishing criminal accountability for the felonious and intentional killing or the abuse, neglect, or exploitation of the decedent conclusively establishes the convicted individual as the decedent's killer or as a felon, as applicable, for purposes of this section. With respect to a claim of felonious and intentional killing, in the absence of a conviction, the court, on the petition of an interested person, shall determine whether, under the preponderance of evidence standard, the individual would be found criminally accountable for the felonious and intentional killing of the decedent. If the court determines that, under that standard, the individual would be found criminally accountable for the felonious and intentional killing of the decedent, the determination conclusively establishes the individual as the decedent's killer for purposes of this section.

    (7) This section does not apply if the forfeiture, revocation, or severance would occur because of abuse, neglect, or exploitation and the decedent executed a governing instrument after the date of the conviction expressing a specific intent to allow the felon to inherit or otherwise receive the estate or property of the decedent.

    (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a payor or other third party is not liable for having made a payment or transferred an item of property or another benefit to a beneficiary designated in a governing instrument affected by an intentional and felonious killing or by abuse, neglect, or exploitation, or for having taken another action in reliance on the validity of the governing instrument, upon request and satisfactory proof of the decedent's death. A payor or other third party is liable for a payment made or other action taken 10 or more business days after the payor or other third party actually receives written notice of a claimed forfeiture or revocation under section 2803. A payor or other third party is not obligated to determine whether the decedent was the victim of felonious killing or abuse, neglect, or exploitation or to seek evidence relating to such a killing or abuse, neglect, or exploitation even if the circumstances of the decedent's death are suspicious as to the beneficiary's participation in such a killing or if there is evidence that would raise suspicions that the decedent was the victim of abuse, neglect, or exploitation by the beneficiary. A recipient who incorrectly receives a payment, transfer of property, or other benefit is liable for the payment or transfer received, whether or not written notice of the claim is given.

    (2) Written notice of a claimed forfeiture or revocation under subsection (1) must be mailed to the payor's or other third party's main office or home by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or served upon the payor or other third party in the same manner as a summons in a civil action. Notice to a sales representative of a payor or other third party does not constitute notice to the payor or other third party.

    (3) The written notice under subsection (1) must include all of the following information:

    (a) The decedent's name, age, and date of birth, and 1 of the following:

    (i) The last 4 digits of the decedent's social security number.

    (ii) The decedent's last known address.

    (b) The name of the person asserting an interest.

    (c) The nature of the payment, item of property, or other benefit.

    (d) A statement that a claim of forfeiture or revocation is being made under section 2803.

    (e) If the claim is based on a conviction for abuse, neglect, or exploitation, a copy of the judgment of conviction.

    (4) Notice in a form or service in a manner other than that described in this section does not impose liability on a payor or other third party for an action taken in accordance with a governing instrument.

    (5) Upon receipt of written notice of a claimed forfeiture or revocation under this section, a payor or other third party may pay an amount owed to the county treasurer of the county of the court having jurisdiction of the probate proceedings relating to the decedent's estate or, if no proceedings have been commenced, to the county treasurer of the county of the decedent's residence. With a payment under this section, the payor or other third party shall file a copy of the written notice received by the payor or other third party. A payment made to the county treasurer discharges the payor or other third party from a claim for the value of an amount paid to the county treasurer.

    (6) The county treasurer shall not charge a filing fee for a payment to the county treasurer under this section. The county treasurer shall hold the money in accordance with section 3917 and, upon the court's determination under section 2803, shall disburse the money in accordance with the determination.

    (7) The provision for payment to the county treasurer under this section does not preclude a payor or other third party from taking another action authorized by law or the governing instrument.

    (1) Section 2803 does not obligate a person who purchases property for value and without notice, or who receives a payment or other item of property in partial or full satisfaction of a legally enforceable obligation, to return the payment, item of property, or benefit, and such a person is not liable under section 2803 for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit. However, a person who, not for value, receives a payment, an item of property, or another benefit to which the person is not entitled under section 2803 is obligated to return the payment, item of property, or benefit, or is personally liable for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit, to the person who is entitled to it under section 2803.

    (2) If this section and sections 2803 and 2804 are, or a part of those sections is, preempted by federal law with respect to a payment, an item of property, or another benefit covered by these sections, a person who, not for value, receives the payment, item of property, or another benefit to which the person is not entitled under these sections is obligated to return the payment, item of property, or benefit, or is personally liable for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of the property or benefit, to the person who would have been entitled to it if these sections or a part of these sections were not preempted.

    As used in this section and sections 2807 to 2809:

    (a) "Disposition or appointment of property" includes, but is not limited to, a transfer of an item of property or another benefit to a beneficiary designated in a governing instrument.

    (b) "Divorce or annulment" means a divorce or annulment, or a dissolution or declaration of invalidity of a marriage, that would exclude the spouse as a surviving spouse within the meaning of section 2801. A decree of separation that does not terminate the decedent's marriage is not a divorce for purposes of this section and sections 2807 to 2809.

    (c) "Divorced individual" includes, but is not limited to, an individual whose marriage has been annulled.

    (d) "Governing instrument" means a governing instrument executed by a divorced individual before the divorce from, or annulment of the individual's marriage to, the individual's former spouse.

    (e) "Relative of the divorced individual's former spouse" means an individual who is related to the divorced individual's former spouse by blood, adoption, or affinity and who, after the divorce or annulment, is not related to the divorced individual by blood, adoption, or affinity.

    (f) "Revocable" means, with respect to a disposition, appointment, provision, or nomination, one under which the divorced individual, at the time of the divorce or annulment, was alone empowered, by law or under the governing instrument, to cancel the designation in favor of the individual's former spouse or former spouse's relative, whether or not the divorced individual was then empowered to designate himself or herself in place of the individual's former spouse or in place of the individual's former spouse's relative and whether or not the divorced individual then had the capacity to exercise the power.

    

    

    (1) Except as provided by the express terms of a governing instrument, court order, or contract relating to the division of the marital estate made between the divorced individuals before or after the marriage, divorce, or annulment, the divorce or annulment of a marriage does all of the following:

    (a) Revokes all of the following that are revocable:

    (i) A disposition or appointment of property made by a divorced individual to his or her former spouse in a governing instrument and a disposition or appointment created by law or in a governing instrument to a relative of the divorced individual's former spouse.

    (ii) A provision in a governing instrument conferring a general or nongeneral power of appointment on the divorced individual's former spouse or on a relative of the divorced individual's former spouse.

    (iii) A nomination in a governing instrument, nominating a divorced individual's former spouse or a relative of the divorced individual's former spouse to serve in a fiduciary or representative capacity, including, but not limited to, a personal representative, executor, funeral representative, trustee, conservator, agent, or guardian.

    (b) Severs the interests of the former spouses in property held by them at the time of the divorce or annulment as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, transforming the interests of the former spouses into tenancies in common.

    (c) Bars the former spouse from exercising a power under section 3206(1).

    (2) A severance under subsection (1)(b) does not affect a third-party interest in property acquired for value and in good faith reliance on an apparent title by survivorship in the survivor of the former spouses unless a writing declaring the severance has been noted, registered, filed, or recorded in records appropriate to the kind and location of the property that are relied on, in the ordinary course of transactions involving that type of property, as evidence of ownership.

    (3) Each provision of a governing instrument is given effect as if the former spouse and relatives of the former spouse disclaimed all provisions revoked by this section or, for a revoked nomination in a fiduciary or representative capacity, as if the former spouse and relatives of the former spouse died immediately before the divorce or annulment.

    (4) Each provision revoked solely by this section is revived by the divorced individual's remarriage to the former spouse or by a nullification of the divorce or annulment.

    (5) No change of circumstances other than as described in this section and in sections 2803 to 2805, 2808, and 2809 causes a revocation.

    (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a payor or other third party is not liable for having made a payment or transferred an item of property or another benefit to a beneficiary designated in a governing instrument affected by a divorce, annulment, or remarriage, or for having taken another action in reliance on the validity of the governing instrument. A payor or other third party is liable for a payment made or other action taken 3 or more business days after the payor or other third party actually receives written notice of a claimed revocation or severance under section 2807. A payor or other third party is not obligated to inquire as to the continued marital relationship between the decedent and a beneficiary described in this subsection or to seek evidence about such a relationship. A recipient who incorrectly receives a payment, transfer of property, or other benefit is liable for the payment or transfer received, whether or not written notice of the claim is given.

    (2) Written notice of the divorce, annulment, or remarriage under subsection (1) must be mailed to the payor's or other third party's main office or home by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or served upon the payor or other third party in the same manner as a summons in a civil action. Notice to a sales representative of a payor or other third party does not constitute notice to the payor or other third party.

    (3) The written notice under subsection (1) must include the decedent's name, the name of the person asserting an interest, the nature of the payment, item of property, or other benefit, and a statement that a divorce, annulment, or remarriage of the decedent and the designated individual occurred. Notice in a form or service in a manner other than that described in this section does not impose liability on a payor or other third party for an action taken in accordance with a governing instrument.

    (4) Upon receipt of written notice of the divorce, annulment, or remarriage, a payor or other third party may pay an amount owed to the county treasurer of the county of the court having jurisdiction of the probate proceedings relating to the decedent's estate or, if no proceedings have been commenced, to the county treasurer of the county of the decedent's residence. With a payment under this section, the payor or other third party shall file a copy of the written notice received by the payor or other third party. A payment made to the county treasurer discharges the payor or other third party from a claim for the value of an amount paid to the county treasurer.

    (5) The county treasurer shall not charge a filing fee for a payment to the county treasurer under this section. The county treasurer shall hold the money in accordance with section 3917 and, upon the court's determination under section 2807, shall disburse the money in accordance with the determination.

    (6) The provision for payment to the county treasurer under this section does not preclude a payor or other third party from taking another action authorized by law or the governing instrument.

    (1) Section 2807 does not obligate an individual who purchases property from a former spouse, a relative of a former spouse, or another person for value and without notice, or who receives from a former spouse, a relative of a former spouse, or another person a payment or other item of property in partial or full satisfaction of a legally enforceable obligation, to return the payment, item of property, or benefit, and such a person is not liable under section 2807 for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit. However, a former spouse, relative of a former spouse, or other person who, not for value, received a payment, item of property, or another benefit to which that person is not entitled under section 2807 is obligated to return the payment, item of property, or benefit, or is personally liable for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit, to the person who is entitled to it under section 2807.

    (2) If this section and sections 2807 and 2808 are, or a part of 1 of those sections is, preempted by federal law with respect to a payment, an item of property, or another benefit covered by these sections, a former spouse, relative of the former spouse, or another person who, not for value, receives a payment, an item of property, or another benefit to which that person is not entitled under these sections is obligated to return the payment, item of property, or benefit, or is personally liable for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit, to the person who would have been entitled to it if these sections or a part of 1 of these sections were not preempted.