ERROR TO REQUIRE HUSBAND TO OBTAIN LIFE INSURANCE TO SECURE ALIMONY AND
CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS WITHOUT FINDINGS REGARDING AVAILABILITY AND COST OF
INSURANCE, ABILITY TO PAY, OR APPROPRIATE CIRCUMSTANCES TO JUSTIFY THE
REQUIREMENT.
The Wife filed a petition to end
her 22-year marriage and requested, among other things, alimony, child support,
attorney's fees, and shared parental responsibility. The lower court granted
attorney's fees and awarded the wife alimony and child support; requiring
husband to secure those obligations with life insurance. The court further
awarded the wife, sole parental custody, an award well beyond the shared
parental responsibility actually requested by the Wife. As to the insurance
requirements, the District Court held:
1. "The courts are statutorily
authorized to order the obligor to maintain life insurance to protect alimony
awards and child support allegations… when "appropriate
circumstances" exist to justify the award."
2. "Appropriate circumstances
may include the dire impact that the sudden death of the obligated party would
have on the receiving party."
3. "In order this protection,
the court should consider the 'availability and costs of such insurance and the
financial impact it will have on the former husband…. The final judgment should
include appropriate findings regarding the availability and cost of insurance,
the ability of the obligor to pay, and the appropriate circumstances that
justify the insurance requirement."
4.
"Here, the trial court made no findings to support the order of life
insurance, and Wife concedes the error."
It
is always a good idea to get life insurance to secure payments of alimony and
child support.
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