Life Insurance Before and Post-Divorce: What to Know

You have probably planned your life carefully up to this point and put in time and energy with your former spouse to drop a will and establish trust to organize your estate after you pass away.

Together you’ve probably put insurance policies in place for life, health and disability and made decisions about the guardianship of your children should anything happen to you before the children are old enough to care for themselves. With all of these planning opportunities you have already taken advantage of, it can be frustrating to realize that the only thing you didn’t plan for was divorce.

Your estate plan must be amended and updated following a divorce to ensure that your wishes are truly protected during the process of separation and divorce. Life insurance is one such component of your plan that probably requires some amendments. Be clear on how the life insurance is paid for and what it guarantees. Any person who owns the policy is, therefore, responsible for keeping the policy active and enforced and for paying premiums. The same person also exercises the authority to change beneficiaries.