no
That is a federal requirement. Retirement benefits always have to be done in conjunction with the spouse.
Are you referring to a group policy offered through work or an individually owned life insurance policy? For individual life insurance policies, the owner of the policy has complete control and can name anyone they like as the beneficiary, and the owner does not need spousal permission to do this.
Yes, the beneficiary of an inherited IRA (AKA beneficiary IRA) can name a beneficiary to that account. In the past, this was not really allowed so some form may still practice as such.
Yes, you can sell a house without spousal consent it their name isn't on the mortgage. If their name is on the mortgage, you will need their consent.
Yes, you can get a divorce in California without spousal consent. California is a "no-fault" divorce state, which means that either spouse can request a divorce without needing the consent or agreement of the other spouse. However, the other spouse will still need to be officially served with divorce papers and has the right to respond to the request.
it usually depends on the company the policy is with. but usually you dont need a signature to change a beneficiary.
No you do not need consent if you are the legal parent.
You have to ask the owner for permission/consent.
If you will somehow suffer a financial loss upon his death, then you should be able to. An example would be if he is paying some sort of child support or spousal maintenance. He would need to be aware of that policy and assign you as a beneficiary.
In general, no. You only need a beneficiary for life insurance.
Yes. If there is a contingent beneficiary, the insurance company will need proof that the primary predeceased the principal in order to pay the contingent beneficiary. If there was no contingent beneficiary named the insurance company will pay the proceeds to the principal's estate.