6.5 Life Insurance Awarded by the Court

• Library: The Virginia Lawyer: A Deskbook for Practitioners (Virginia CLE) (2022 Ed.)

6.5 LIFE INSURANCE AWARDED BY THE COURT

Section 20-107.1:1 gives the court the authority in certain circumstances to make an award of life insurance. The statute provides:

Upon entry of a decree providing for (i) the dissolution of a marriage, (ii) a divorce, whether from the bond of matrimony or from bed and board, or (iii) separate maintenance, where an order for spousal support or separate maintenance has been entered by the court, the court may order a party to (a) maintain any existing life insurance policy on the insured party's life that was purchased during the marriage, is issued through the insured's employment, or is within effective control of the insured, provided that the party so ordered has the right to designate a beneficiary and that the payee has been designated as a beneficiary of such policy during the marriage and the payee is a party with an insurable interest pursuant to subsection B of § 38.2-301; (b) designate the other party as beneficiary of all or a portion of the death benefit of such life insurance for so long as the insured party so ordered has an obligation to pay spousal support to the other party, provided that the party so ordered has the right to designate a beneficiary and that the payee has been designated as a beneficiary of such policy during the marriage and the payee is a party with an insurable interest pursuant to subsection B of § 38.2-301 in accordance with the terms of the policy; (c)

...