Abstract
Up to this point the mediator has been concerned with those expenses that one or both of the parties will pay for. More accurately, he has been concerned with the apportionment of those expenses between the parties. There are certain expenses and certain risks, however, that neither of the parties can pay for or assume. On the contrary, they are so great that all that the parties can do is to insure themselves against the possibility of those expenses. Principal among these are the costs attendant to an extraordinary illness and the risk attendant to the death of one of the parties, principally the party obligated to make payment to the other for that party’s support or for the support of their children.
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Notes
Until recently, she could also be turned down, at least in terms of her previous coverage. This has now been remedied, at least for a period of three years, by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (C.O.B.R.A.), Pub. L. No. 99-272, Title X.
To be sure, in many instances the wife could apply to the court to require her husband to assume all or a portion of these unreimbursed expenses. Callen v. Callen, 257 Ala. 226, 58 So.2d 462 (1952); Harp v. McCann, 97 A.D.2d 868, 469 N.Y.S.2d 266 (1983). However, as a general rule, the court will not grant the wife’s application unless the expenses in question are extraordinary. Grobleski v. Grobleski, 408 So.2d 693 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1982); In re Marriage of Arnold, 122 Ill. App. 3d 776, 462 N.E.2d 51, 78 Ill. Dec. 335 (1984); Nuckols v. Nuckols, 12 Ohio App. 3d 94, 467 N.E.2d 259 (1983).
It is for this reason that a husband was not generally obligated to maintain policies of insurance on his life for his wife, or even for his children. In recent years, however, and particularly with the enactment of equitable distribution statutes, many courts have now been given the authority to direct husbands (and, where appropriate, wives) to maintain policies on their lives. See, e. g., Fla. Stat. Ann. ∫ 61.08(3) (West 1985); N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law ∫ 236 (McKinney 1986).
There is no estate tax on an estate of less than ∫600,000. I.R.C. ∫ 2010 (West 1988 Supp.). If the husband’s taxable estate, including the proceeds of such insurance, is less than $600,000, which is usually the case, the wife will not have to pay federal estate tax on the insurance policies.
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Marlow, L., Sauber, S.R. (1990). Medical and Life Insurance. In: The Handbook of Divorce Mediation. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2495-7_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2495-7_19
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