What Is Alimony Insurance?

For those going through a divorce and expecting to receive alimony (also called ‘spousal support’) payments once the divorce has been finalized, it’s important to ask yourself about those payments will be guaranteed. Under certain circumstances, it may be a wise choice to purchase or require your former partner to purchase alimony insurance.
 

What Is Alimony Insurance?

Alimony insurance is basically a life and disability insurance policy created to ensure that the recipient of alimony payments will continue receiving those payments in the event that the spouse paying alimony is injured or killed.

While not required, for those whose ex-spouse works in a profession that has higher likelihood of death or injury (such as construction or law enforcement, for example) alimony insurance might be worth requesting in a divorce settlement.

The primary caveat to alimony insurance is that the person to be insured must consent to being insured and will likely need to take a physical exam and provide other health-related information before the insurance is approved.
 

What Alimony Insurance Doesn’t Cover

The one thing that alimony insurance can’t protect the receiving spouse from, unfortunately, is if the paying spouse simply decides to stop or withhold payments for reasons of their own choosing.

If the paying spouse withholds payment, the only recourse the receiving spouse has is to file a complaint with the court and ask a judge to compel their ex-spouse to resume payments. Ultimately, failing to pay court-mandated alimony payments can result in either financial punishment (possibly by increasing the amount of alimony) or in extreme cases, prison time for the offending spouse.
 

Consulting With Your Divorce Attorney

If you are unsure if alimony insurance is something you should be pursuing in your divorce settlement or trial, the first step is to bring the subject up with your lawyer.

Your lawyer can provide more detailed information about the pros and cons of alimony insurance and help determine if your particular circumstances merit pursuing it in your divorce proceedings.

Finally, there are several other options to alimony insurance that can have the save effective result, so ask your attorney to lay out all the potential options and make a choice based on what best meets your needs.