Financially Smart Divorce

No one gets married planning to get a divorce, but it happens often. If you are in the midst of a divorce, you may understandably be concerned about the most obvious issues, including child custody and possession of the family home. But there can be less apparent concerns as well.

Life Insurance

Will you continue to have an insurable interest in your spouse once divorce is finalized? You may if you will depend on child or spousal support and if your ex-spouse will pay big-ticket expenses, such as tuition. You will, however, need to sort through the specifics before the divorce.

If you or your spouse has permanent life insurance with cash value, the cash component will also factor into divorce negotiations. Splitting a joint life insurance policy may prove difficult, unless it has a clause that dictates how this may
happen in the event of divorce.

A final decree may order one spouse to continue paying premiums for equivalent life insurance coverage on the other spouse. Once your divorce is official, you will want to review your life insurance policy for adequacy, while making sure you’ll be protected financially if you become disabled or need long term care.

Other Changes

Once you are divorced, you should also review your beneficiary designations to make sure they are in line with your new reality. This becomes more complex when one or both spouses remarry.

You’ll also need to revisit your coverage for auto, home and health insurance, as new policies could be required in each case.

You may be able to keep a former spouse’s employer-provided health coverage for yourself and pay for it for up to 36 months, using the provisions in the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), which allows such coverage for major life changes.