Can a person collect a life insurance payout if they were listed as spouse and they were divorced for 9 yrs?

My childs father ped away in Nov. 07. There was no will and my son was the only heir. There was a life insurance policy and the payee was the ex wife and the policy stated payout to WIFE, can she still collect the payment when they were divorced for over 9 yrs? There ARE many questions and It seems that my son Is being left with nothing and being the only heir he should be considered..right?...I NEED SOME HELP AND AND ANY INFO WOULD BE AWSOME!!!!