Divorce and Life Insurance: Post Modern Remedies for Breach of a Duty to Maintain a Policy for a Designated Beneficiary

In the last two centuries, life insurance has attained a place of prominence in most Americans' financial and domestic affairs, and a preference in our law. This article examines the application of legal and equitable remedies after the death of an insured who was subject to a life insurance mandate but failed to comply fully with its terms. The author finds that many problems stem from the failure of the parties, their lawyers, and judges, to develop a clear understanding of the purposes to be served by each mandate, and from poorly drafted mandates whose application is unclear in marginal cases. The article then considers the remedies available for the breach of such a duty, and the significant issues affecting such remedies.

The author concludes that, although the courts have generally found the right remedies, the application of those remedies has often been inconsistent with the general principles of equity, and, in some cases, substantively unfair.