1. Why is life insurance such an important consideration in a divorce case?
One of the main considerations in any divorce case is life insurance. If a father or a mother dies then how can the child support be paid. Moreover, if a dependent ex-wife relies on alimony to survive, it can be disastrous if her former husband dies. One of the main considerations in dealing with the possibility of a party's dealt is life insurance protection. Often family courts require the parties in divorce proceedings to obtain life insurance to guarantee the continuation of payments ordered by the court for alimony, child support, or to pay for the college education for the children.
The amount of life insurance that the court may require depends on the financial condition of the parties. In my experience the court requires relatively poor families to obtain $100,000 worth of term life insurance for each child. For a middle class family the normal range is $150,000 worth of term life insurance for each child. Finally, for the more affluent families the courts require $500,000 worth of term life insurance for each child.
2. If an individual dies without a will, what is the surviving spouse entitled to?
Where the surviving spouse has children of the same marriage and no stepchildren, the spouse will inherit the entire estate.
If there is a child or children of the same marriage and the surviving spouse has a child or children of a prior union, then the spouse will take the first 25% of the estate, but not less than $50,000 nor more than $200,000, plus one half of any balance. Decedent's children (from this marriage or any prior union) share the other half equally.
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