Short answer. No, not automatically. Article 64 of the Family Code gives the innocent spouse the right to revoke the offending spouse's insurance beneficiary designation, but revocation requires an affirmative act — written notification to the insurer. Nothing is revoked by the decree alone without that notification.
What the law says
The revocation of or change in the designation of the insurance beneficiary shall take effect upon written notification thereof to the insured.
Family Code, Article 64 — Revoking Donations and Insurance Designations. Read the full provision →
The decree does not automatically revoke the designation
A legal separation decree has significant legal consequences, but it does not by itself revoke an existing insurance beneficiary designation. Article 64 of the Family Code grants the innocent spouse the right to revoke such designations — but the exercise of that right requires an affirmative act. The article provides that the revocation of or change in the designation of the insurance beneficiary shall take effect upon written notification thereof to the insured. Without written notification to the insurer, the offending spouse's designation as beneficiary remains in place even after the decree becomes final.
Even irrevocable designations can be changed
Life insurance policies sometimes contain provisions stating that the beneficiary designation is irrevocable. Article 64 expressly overrides this. The innocent spouse may revoke the designation of the offending spouse as beneficiary in any insurance policy, even if such designation be stipulated as irrevocable. This means that a clause in the policy contract purporting to lock in the offending spouse as beneficiary permanently cannot be used to resist revocation. The Family Code gives the innocent spouse this right as a consequence of legal separation, and it operates over any contrary contractual provision.
What written notification means in practice
To revoke the insurance beneficiary designation, the innocent spouse must notify the insurer in writing. This is the mechanism Article 64 specifies, and the revocation takes effect from that notification — not from the date of the decree, not from the date of separation, but from the written notice to the insurer. The notification should clearly identify the policy, the change being made, and the basis for the change. After the revocation takes effect, the innocent spouse may also designate a new beneficiary in place of the former spouse.
Acting promptly: the five-year window
The right to revoke is not perpetual. Article 64 sets a five-year prescriptive period for actions to revoke donations, and the overall framework of the article requires action within that window. The five-year period runs from the time the decree of legal separation becomes final. For insurance designations, the same urgency applies: do not assume the right will always be available. If you intend to remove the offending spouse from your insurance policies, taking that step promptly after the decree becomes final ensures that the revocation is timely and that the designation does not continue to stand by inertia.