Oklahoma § 36-3631.1 - Certain money and benefits exempt from legal process or

§ 36-3631.1. Certain money and benefits exempt from legal process or

seizure - Exceptions.

A. All money or benefits of any kind, including policy proceeds

and cash values, to be paid or rendered to the insured or any

beneficiary under any policy of insurance issued by a life, health

or accident insurance company, under any policy issued by a mutual

benefit association, or under any plan or program of annuities and

benefits, shall:

1. Inure exclusively to the benefit of the person for whose use

and benefit the money or benefits are designated in the policy, plan

or program;

2. Be fully exempt from execution, attachment, garnishment or

other process;

3. Be fully exempt from being seized, taken or appropriated or

applied by any legal or equitable process or operation of law to pay

any debt or liability of the insured or of any beneficiary, either

before or after said money or benefits is or are paid or rendered;

and

4. Be fully exempt from all demands in any bankruptcy

proceeding of the insured or beneficiary.

B. The exemptions provided by subsection A of this section

shall apply without regard to whether:

1. The power to change the beneficiary is reserved to the

insured; or

2. The insured or the insured's estate is a contingent

beneficiary.

C. The exemptions provided by subsection A of this section do

not apply to:

1. Premium payments made in fraud of creditors subject to the

applicable statute of limitations for the recovery of the premium

payments;

2. Fines imposed for violation of state or federal statutes; or

3. A debt of the insured or beneficiary secured by a pledge of

the policy or its proceeds.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 36. Insurance

D. This section shall not prevent the proper assignment of any

money or benefits to be paid or rendered under an insurance policy,

or any rights under the policy, by the insured or owner in

accordance with the terms of the policy. A policy shall also be

deemed to be payable to a person other than the insured if and to

the extent that a facility-of-payment clause or similar clause in

the policy permits the insurer to discharge its obligation after the

death of the individual insured by paying the death benefits to a

person as permitted by such clause.

E. Wherever any policy of insurance or plan or program of

annuities and benefits mentioned in subsection A of this section

shall contain a provision against assignment or commutation by any

beneficiary thereunder of the money or benefits to be paid or

rendered thereunder, or any rights therein, any assignment or

commutation or any attempted assignment or commutation by such

beneficiary of such money or benefits or rights in violation of such

provision shall be wholly void.

F. This section shall apply to money or benefits to be paid or

rendered to an insured or a beneficiary under any policy, plan or

program provided for in subsection A of this section without regard

to whether the policy was issued or the plan or program was

established before, on, or after September 1, 1992.

Added by Laws 1992, c. 261, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1992.