Supreme Court of the United States / October Term 2017

Sveen v. Melin

Decided June 11, 2018. Elena Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 16-1432 · 584 U.S. 811 · Cited 172 times

Holding

The retroactive application of Minnesota’s revocation-on-divorce statute—which automatically nullifies an ex-spouse’s beneficiary designation on a life-insurance policy or other will substitute—does not violate the Contracts Clause.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov) (opens primary source in a new tab)

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Elena Kagan’s profile · All opinions since October Term 2017 · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2018). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-02. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).