Review the last 10 marital settlement agreements you drafted. Did those agreements involve payment/receipt of spousal or child support? Do those agreements contain life insurance provisions to secure spousal/child support? If you fail to draft life insurance provisions in your agreements with the same detail as an “anti-Lepis” provision, you may commit malpractice or invite unnecessary estate litigation—or both. This article provides case law-based examples of what can go wrong and tips on how to avoid pitfalls.

In 2019, we participated in Woytas v. Greenwood Tree Experts, 237 N.J. 501 (2019). The case was grounded in a tousled intersection of divorce, life insurance, and suicide. The agreement between the decedent/former husband and his ex-wife required the decedent to “maintain a $400,000 life insurance policy for the duration of his alimony obligation,” naming his ex-wife beneficiary. Id. at 506 (emphasis added). The agreement also required the decedent to maintain $750,000 of life insurance for his three children “to be reduced by $250,000 upon a child’s emancipation.” Ibid. The agreement included a handwritten clause providing: “[i]n the event either party fails to maintain the life insurance [policy requirements], such party’s estate shall be liable for any outstanding obligations owed under this Agreement.” Id. at 506-07 (emphasis added).