Even if your spouse has agreed or been ordered to pay child support or alimony following your divorce, there is one inevitable reality that you must face. Those support payments will inevitably end, and they may end prematurely if your former spouse passes away. As such, you may find that you are no longer entitled to financial benefits which you had come to rely on.

For example, if your spouse remarries after your divorce and has additional children in his second marriage, the children from his first marriage may find themselves entitled to little or nothing from his estate when he passes away. One way to ensure that you or your children do not end up with nothing from your previous spouse is to ask your Ohio family court judge to include a life insurance order in your divorce decree.

Depending on the specific order, your former spouse may be ordered to guarantee that your court-ordered child and spousal support payments will continue through a sufficient life insurance policy, even if your spouse passes away unexpectedly.

The options for such a policy are many. One common scenario is when the spouse established a life insurance policy that is payable to the children alone. This will ensure that the children, and not any current or former spouses, receive the financial benefits of the policy.

If you have any questions about life insurance and how it can guarantee continued spousal and child support payments, an experienced family law attorney may be able to help.

Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer, "How life insurance plays in divorce," J. Brendan Ryan, Jan. 6, 2012