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You are here: Home / Separation or Divorce: Life Insurance

Separation or Divorce: Life Insurance

Another situation that can arise is one in which the husband is obliged to provide $1 million of private (non-ERISA) life insurance to the ex-wife and dies having reduced the coverage to $700,000 and having taken out another policy for $300,000 covering his second wife. In most states, divorce, per se, does not affect a beneficiary designation in a life insurance policy. The second wife, then, may get to keep the $300,000. What should have been done? The divorce agreement should have contained a clause to the effect that such policies are “deemed to have been intended by the husband to secure the obligations set forth in the agreement regardless of the beneficiary designation” — and that such policy should be payable to the first wife to the extent of the obligation. While it is unclear whether such a provision would work in other states, the Supreme Judicial Court has made clear that it will in Foster v. Hurley, 444 Mass. 157 (2004).

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Recent Posts

A Spouse’s Bad Conduct and its Impact on Property Division in a Massachusetts Divorce

June 30, 2018

By Jonathan Fields, Esq. One of the most frequent questions clients ask divorce attorneys is whether a spouse’s bad conduct will impact the financial settlement in a divorce.  This article explores the Massachusetts law in this area. The Massachusetts property division statute, G.L. c.208 s.34, requires courts to examine multiple factors in determining the division […]

Removal of Children to Another Jurisdiction: What Every Parent Should Know

June 24, 2018

By Jonathan E. Fields, Esq. When a parent wants to move with the child outside of Massachusetts, and the other parent does not consent to the removal, a complex legal analysis must be undertaken in order to determine the rights and responsibilities of the parents and the child.  If the parties cannot come to an […]

Alimony and the TCJA: Common Misconceptions Every Divorcing Parent Should Know

June 22, 2018

By Jonathan Fields, Esq. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), alimony will no longer be tax deductible to the payor and no longer tax includable to the payee effective January 1, 2019.  The law was a shock to many, particularly divorce lawyers, most of whom had gotten quite used to the […]

Taxation of Property Division in Divorce: What You Need to Know

June 22, 2018

By Jonathan Fields, Esq. I.  General Rules Under §1041 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), the general rule is that neither gain nor loss is recognized on transfers of property between spouses or ex-spouses “incident to a divorce.”   A transfer “incident to a divorce” is one that occurs within one year of the divorce and […]

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When my arranged marriage ended, my parents decided to set me up again. But finding love isn’t that easy… Read more here.

Meg Ryan shares the ‘real gift’ that came out of her divorce

February 16, 2019

Meg Ryan is ready to get back into the Hollywood game. The star of classic romantic comedies like “Sleepless in Seattle” and “When Harry Met Sally…” opened up to The New York Times Magazine in a wide-ranging interview about her divorce from Dennis Quaid, her engagement to rock legend John Mellencamp, her favorite romantic comedies and the new movie and television show […]

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Recent Blogs

  • Divorce, Islam and me: ‘I will for ever be the woman who left two husbands’
  • Meg Ryan shares the ‘real gift’ that came out of her divorce
  • Beck files for divorce from actress wife Marissa Ribisi after 14 years of marriage
  • First things first: the ‘no-nup’ prenup – Vicki L. Shemin featured in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
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Recent Firm News & Coverage

  • First things first: the ‘no-nup’ prenup – Vicki L. Shemin featured in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly

  • Jonathan Fields Selected for Inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for Family Law

  • Jon Fields Interviewed in Boston Voyager

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  • Jon Fields Interviewed on Inter Alia Podcast: Divorcing People Behaving Badly

The Boston metro family law, divorce and estate planning attorneys at the law firm of Fields and Dennis LLP are based in the Newton Wellesley area and serve the city of Newton: Auburndale, Chestnut Hill, Newton Centre, Newton Corner, Newton Upper Falls, Newton Lower Falls, Nonantum, Oak Hill, Waban and West Newton and town of Wellesley: Babson Park, Wellesley Hills, Wellesley Square Fields and Dennis also serves many clients in the Greater Boston and Massachusetts region including Ashland, Dover, Holliston, Medfield, Needham, Sherborn, Westwood, and all of Massachusetts.

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