Question regarding divorce

[Justanex]

The following verbiage is included in my divorce decree:

Insurance and Retirement. Husband agrees to maintain the current life insurance on himself and the minor children. The beneficiary for the Husband's policy shall be the Wife with the minor children as contingents. The beneficiaries for the minor children's policies shall be the Husband and Wife at 50%/50%. Husband and Wife mutually agree to make no claim upon any interest owned by the other, now or in the future, in any life insurance, retirement, pension, or annuity program, or contract except as otherwise provided in this agreement; and said parties agree that any such interest owned by either party in a life insurance, retirement, pension or annuity program, or contract is and shall remain their separate and individual property, except as otherwise provided in this agreement. In addition, each party specifically waives any and all right to take as a beneficiary under an insurance policy payable on death of the other, regardless of the beneficiary designation made in the policy.

My ex husband switched employers approximately a year ago. He was employed with the last one for approximately 20 years. I have reason to believe the the policy referenced in the decree is no longer valid. It was a group plan offered through his employer. He has insurance with his new employer, which his new Wife is named as beneficiary. Given the above wording, would there be any recourse since he failed to maintain the initial policy? He left the original employer by choice, not a termination, if that matters any. He recently passed away and I'm trying to sort through this. We have 2 children together, 1 is still a minor & the other is disabled. He has no other children.

 

[army judge]

The following verbiage is included in my divorce decree:

Insurance and Retirement. Husband agrees to maintain the current life insurance on himself and the minor children. The beneficiary for the Husband's policy shall be the Wife with the minor children as contingents. The beneficiaries for the minor children's policies shall be the Husband and Wife at 50%/50%. Husband and Wife mutually agree to make no claim upon any interest owned by the other, now or in the future, in any life insurance, retirement, pension, or annuity program, or contract except as otherwise provided in this agreement; and said parties agree that any such interest owned by either party in a life insurance, retirement, pension or annuity program, or contract is and shall remain their separate and individual property, except as otherwise provided in this agreement. In addition, each party specifically waives any and all right to take as a beneficiary under an insurance policy payable on death of the other, regardless of the beneficiary designation made in the policy.

My ex husband switched employers approximately a year ago. He was employed with the last one for approximately 20 years. I have reason to believe the the policy referenced in the decree is no longer valid. It was a group plan offered through his employer. He has insurance with his new employer, which his new Wife is named as beneficiary. Given the above wording, would there be any recourse since he failed to maintain the initial policy? He left the original employer by choice, not a termination, if that matters any. He recently passed away and I'm trying to sort through this. We have 2 children together, 1 is still a minor & the other is disabled. He has no other children.

If your former spouse is deceased, nothing in the decree is applicable any longer.
The divorce decree is a court order directed at you and your former spouse alone.
Let's say it ordered him to pay you $10,000 a month.
He's dead, and you'll no longer get that $10,000 a month.
If he had any assets or an estate, his current spouse would be entitled to it.
His life insurance polices are outside the realm of the court to dictate to whom he declares a beneficiary.

The same premise applies to child support.
He's dead, and there will forever be no more child support.

Beyond all of that, how could the court ever do anything to sanction a dead person?
it can't, so all of that stuff in that decree was extinguished upon his death.

Whatever he did a year ago, you should have acted then if you believed he was violating the decree.
Unfortunately, you can't act today, nor can the court.

 

[Justanex]

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question. I have consulted with 3 different Attorneys regarding this issue. The general consensus is, the decree and court order is still applicable. Although I can not seek satisfaction from him, I can make a claim against his estate. My ex husband was under a court order, which we know is not a suggestion. His current Wife is entitled to his life insurance, but I am now considered a "creditor", if you will, against the estate. So, it appears that there will be a claim made & my attorney will seek to see what assets are available to satisfy my claim. I wanted to make sure, that's why I consulted with 3 various Lawyers. It's going to be expensive & get a little sticky (jurisdictional issues) but, it's not a "oh well, move on" situation. Just wanted to update for the current situation. Nothing will happen overnight, may even take years...only time will tell.

 

[army judge]

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question. I have consulted with 3 different Attorneys regarding this issue. The general consensus is, the decree and court order is still applicable. Although I can not seek satisfaction from him, I can make a claim against his estate. My ex husband was under a court order, which we know is not a suggestion. His current Wife is entitled to his life insurance, but I am now considered a "creditor", if you will, against the estate. So, it appears that there will be a claim made & my attorney will seek to see what assets are available to satisfy my claim. I wanted to make sure, that's why I consulted with 3 various Lawyers. It's going to be expensive & get a little sticky (jurisdictional issues) but, it's not a "oh well, move on" situation. Just wanted to update for the current situation. Nothing will happen overnight, may even take years...only time will tell.

If your beliefs keep you going, keep the faith.

 

[ElleMD]

He may not have had the option to covert the policy when he left employment. Did you ask him about it at the time he resigned? If you know the company it was with, call them and ask if the policy still exists. If you do not, contact the former employer and ask them.

 

[Justanex]

ElleMD, The Attorney told me that based on her contact with the company, both of them, he did have an option to maintain the policy. He chose not to. They did identify 2 separate policies, which were in effect at the time of his passing. Honestly, I didn't mention anything to him about it when he resigned. I never gave any thought to it. After he passed away, I pulled out my divorce decree due to some of our children's personal property that is specifically listed in the decree. He kept possession of those items, but they were referenced. I wanted to check make/models to verify where they were (my ex BIL is in possession of some of them) While reading over it, I was reminded of our agreement and the life insurance policy.

Army Judge, it's not about what I believe or don't believe. I'm just trying to follow up on what was awarded in our divorce. I have 2 children to take care of now, alone. One is disabled & will be for life. The other is still a minor. Given that Step-Mom has decided to hold on to the specifically listed property until our youngest son turns 18, I have decided to see about enforcing all of our prior agreements. I'm not really interested in any money, I don't care about it. However, our boys have certain things that are written out as THEIR property & she is making even that difficult. So, if nothing else, I'm going to rattle her cage a little bit. If at the end of the day I have an enforceable order, then great....our children will benefit. If I don't, then I don't. At a minimum, I will get my children's personal property returned.

 

[army judge]

Army Judge, it's not about what I believe or don't believe. I'm just trying to follow up on what was awarded in our divorce. I have 2 children to take care of now, alone. One is disabled & will be for life. The other is still a minor. Given that Step-Mom has decided to hold on to the specifically listed property until our youngest son turns 18, I have decided to see about enforcing all of our prior agreements. I'm not really interested in any money, I don't care about it. However, our boys have certain things that are written out as THEIR property & she is making even that difficult. So, if nothing else, I'm going to rattle her cage a little bit. If at the end of the day I have an enforceable order, then great....our children will benefit. If I don't, then I don't. At a minimum, I will get my children's personal property returned.

You need not waste your valuable time explaining anything to me.
We are all free to pursue anything we desire, and if we overstep that, the authorities address that.
As I said, you are free to believe whatever you wish.
Besides, you hired a real attorney, so I suggest you work with that attorney and preserve every bit of your privacy as you work the process.