LIFE INSURANCE AS SECURITY FOR SUPPORT

Support payors (and their eventual estates) beware. Yesterday, the Court of Appeal released the Turner decision. The parties' separation agreement specified that the husband was required to pay his ex-wife spousal support until she reached 65 years of age and to maintain a life insurance policy for $100,000 until he was no longer obligated to pay support. The husband died but all of the insurance was not in place; his remaining support obligation was considerably less than $100,000. Because the two terms were not linked directly in the agreement, the ex-wife was permitted to claim all $100,000 from the estate even though the deceased's remaining support obligation to her was significantly less than this amount. In the future, payors should ensure that their separation agreements specifically link the obligation to maintain life insurance to the obligation to pay support, or find their estates depleted. Contact Todd K. Plant at 613-563-1131 about your case involving insurance, support or estate matters. http://www.pqtlaw.com/. Plant Quinn Thiele LLP