Q: The divorce decree states that my ex husband has to take out a 100,000 life insurance policy, for her to get. He didn't.

A: The reason why a divorce agreement or court order would require someone to take out or maintain a life insurance policy (generally) is to secure a financial obligation owed to the other party. The common example would be if he had an alimony obligation to you, then during the period of time that he owed you alimony, an agreement can require him to maintain life insurance coverage on his life to cover the remaining amount of alimony owed if he was to die. Similarly, if you received the marital home in the divorce but the agreement required him to pay off the mortgage obligation, then the agreement might require him to maintain a sum of life insurance to cover the balance outstanding on the mortgage, so that if he dies before paying it off, then the life insurance is used to pay it off.

Presuming that he still has an obligation to you under the terms of your agreement and he has failed to provide you with required proof of the coverage, then you have a right to file an application with the court identifying the obligation in the agreement, your request for verification of that coverage and his refusal to provide same to you. You will then be asking the court to compel him to provide the coverage or be subject to sanctions until the coverage is in place.

If he owed you XXX in life insurance coverage and he passed away without maintaining that coverage, then you need to file a claim against his estate for the amount owed and for violation of the terms of your agreement. In either setting, you need a lawyer to handle the application[s] to the court. This is not something to handle on your own.

A: Thank you for your question. I am sorry to hear that your husband has not been complying with the divorce decree. The answer to your question would ultimately depend on the specific terms of the divorce decree and whether or not that specific relief was provided as a remedy in the event of your husband’s non-compliance. However, in the event that that specific relief was not provided for, your relief in the event that you filed an enforcement application with the court regarding the life insurance policy would most likely be limited to a court order directing him to immediately comply with the divorce decree and obtain the life insurance policy as well as possible sanctions for his non-compliance and/or an award of counsel fees for any legal fees incurred in filing your enforcement application.