California Family Code § 2024: Automatic Injunction

Plain-Language Summary

California Family Code § 2024 is a notice requirement. The law mandates that any divorce (dissolution or annulment) petition and any final divorce judgment include a printed warning. This warning tells spouses that divorce may automatically cancel certain rights under wills, trusts, or joint property ownership, and that you must update those documents if you want a different outcome. In practical terms, §2024 is meant to inform divorcing parties about how their spouse may lose rights as a beneficiary of each other’s estates or accounts upon divorce. Section 2024 simply requires the court to include the specified warning language in the paperwork. Its purpose is informational – protecting spousal notice rights.

Real-World Examples

Missing notice prevents final judgment: In In re Marriage of Morcoso (2008), the appellate court found that a divorce order granting an annulment was not a valid final judgment because it omitted the mandatory §2024 notice. Because the required warning language was missing, the court treated the order as incomplete (in effect denying the request for a final judgment until the notice was included).
Notice present upholds divorce decree: In Estate of Coleman (2005), a court challenged a will based on the claim that the divorce judgment lacked the §2024 warning. The appellate court noted that the 1996 divorce judgment did include the required notice language about reviewing one’s will and insurance policies. Since the warning was in the decree, the challenge failed and the judgment was upheld (a request to overturn the will was denied).
Hypothetical scenario – amending documents: For example, if a spouse realizes that the divorce petition or judgment omitted the §2024 notice, they might ask the court to amend the document or vacate the judgment until the notice is included. In practice, a court will require the missing warning language to be added before finalizing the divorce (effectively denying any request to enforce the judgment without the notice). Conversely, when the notice is already included, the court typically enforces the decree as written.

Published Case Law on § 2024

Estate of Coleman (Cal. Ct. App. 2005) – In this probate appeal, the court reviewed a dissolution judgment and confirmed it contained the required §2024 notice about wills and insurance. Because the divorce decree warned the parties to review their wills and policies, the court rejected a will-contest argument that the notice was missing. The ruling highlights that a proper warning satisfies §2024 and lets the divorce judgment stand.
In re Marriage of Morcoso (Cal. Ct. App. 2008, unpublished) – The California Court of Appeal noted that §2024(b) requires a specific notice in the judgment. In Morcoso, because the trial court’s order lacked the mandatory warning, it was not considered a valid judgment. The court therefore permitted further proceedings to correct the omission. (Though unpublished, this case is often cited as an example of strict enforcement of the §2024 notice rule.)
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans v. Bloomquist (D. Nev. 2018) – A federal court (applying California law) observed that the California divorce decree explicitly quoted the §2024 warning about life insurance beneficiaries. The decree stated that divorce “does not automatically cancel [the] spouse’s rights as beneficiary of your life insurance policy”. Because California law has no automatic revocation of life insurance by divorce, the court held the ex-spouse remained the beneficiary. This case illustrates how §2024’s language is used (not for fees) but to clarify that certain rights (like insurance beneficiaries) are preserved unless affirmatively changed.

Full Text of California Family Code § 2024

(a) A petition for dissolution of marriage, nullity of marriage, or legal separation of the parties, or a joint petition for summary dissolution of marriage, shall contain the following notice:

“Dissolution or annulment of your marriage may automatically cancel your spouse’s rights under your will, trust, retirement benefit plan, power of attorney, pay on death bank account, transfer on death vehicle registration, survivorship rights to any property owned in joint tenancy, and any other similar thing. It does not automatically cancel your spouse’s rights as beneficiary of your life insurance policy. If these are not the results that you want, you must change your will, trust, account agreement, or other similar document to reflect your actual wishes.

Dissolution or annulment of your marriage may also automatically cancel your rights under your spouse’s will, trust, retirement benefit plan, power of attorney, pay on death bank account, transfer on death vehicle registration, survivorship rights to any property owned in joint tenancy, and any other similar thing. It does not automatically cancel your rights as beneficiary of your spouse’s life insurance policy.

You should review these matters, as well as any credit cards, other credit accounts, insurance policies, retirement benefit plans, and credit reports to determine whether they should be changed or whether you should take any other actions in view of the dissolution or annulment of your marriage, or your legal separation. However, some changes may require the agreement of your spouse or a court order (see Part 3 (commencing with Section 231) of Division 2 of the Family Code).”

(b) A judgment for dissolution of marriage, for nullity of marriage, or for legal separation of the parties shall contain the following notice:

Dissolution or annulment of your marriage may also automatically cancel your rights under your spouse’s will, trust, retirement benefit plan, power of attorney, pay on death bank account, transfer on death vehicle registration, and survivorship rights to any property owned in joint tenancy, and any other similar thing. It does not automatically cancel your rights as beneficiary of your spouse’s life insurance policy.

(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 417, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2002.)

*Nothing on this page should be considered legal advice. This is simply a summary of information found on the Internet. Use at your own risk. This information has not been evaluated by an attorney, and it may be incorrect or obsolete due to changes in the law.