I am only going to answer the

My husband and I are going through a divorce. In return for my giving up my half interest in our stocks -- currently valued at $100,000 -- he proposes carrying a term life insurance policy until he reaches age 65 with me as the beneficiary under which I will receive $500,000 if he dies before age 65. I think its worth the gamble because he's an idiot and will do something stupid to die young, but is it legal?. I don't want to do this if the court will not enforce it.

 

A: I am only going to answer the "legality" issue in your question, and not going to give you advice on what to do since you seem to have made up your mind.

It is legal if you do it right. You will have to have it put into the final decree of divorce. Because the divorce laws in Virginia prevent a judge from requiring a party to carry life insurance on a former spouse, the obligation must be made in a Property Settlement Agreement -- a contract between husband and wife by which they resolve their rights and obligations in marital property -- that can then be incorporated into the final decree of divorce. In the Property Settlement Agreement, your attorney should specifically address the provision of Virginia law that terminates a spouse's right to be the beneficiary of a life insurance policy on the other spouse to preserve your right to receive the benefit.


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