How Does Final Expense Insurance For Divorce Work?
Final expense insurance for a divorced spouse functions exactly like one you would buy yourself. The only measurable difference is that you’re required (by the court) to name your ex-spouse as the only primary beneficiary.
Some courts will even mandate that you make them an “irrevocable beneficiary”. If so, that would mean you cannot change the primary beneficiary without their written consent.
Bear in mind that you’ll still be able to name any number of backup beneficiaries, such as your children.
When you die, the policy will quickly pay out a cash benefit to your ex-spouse. They will be free to spend the money on literally anything (not just funeral costs).
The fine print of these policies is as follows:
- Premiums never increase
- Coverage never decreases
- It lasts forever
- Builds cash value
Most final expense insurance companies offer these plans for amounts ranging from $2,000 to $50,000, though some may go higher (you could also buy multiple policies if you need much higher amounts of coverage).
You won’t have to take a medical exam to qualify. In general, you only have to answer some basic health questions. Even so, some policies are called “guaranteed acceptance” because there are no health or lifestyle questions.
However, since your approval is guaranteed, the insurer will protect itself by instituting a two-year waiting period. Should you die during the waiting period, they will only refund your premiums plus roughly 10% interest.
After the waiting period ends, the policy will pay out the full amount for any reason going forward.
Most family court judges will set a specific deadline for you to obtain the insurance. It’s often 30-90 days after the divorce has been finalized. One nice perk of final expense insurance is that you can obtain a new policy from numerous providers within 15 minutes, so the deadline won’t be an issue.
Proof Of Coverage For The Court
The court will require you to provide proof of coverage. Once an insurance company has approved you, expect a policy in the mail within 2-3 weeks. In addition, many insurers now offer PDF versions of the policies, usually within 1-2 days of the approval.
The bottom line is that you will not have to wait long before you have the proof you need that you satisfied the court’s requirement.
Try Your Hardest To Obtain A Burial Insurance Policy With No Waiting Period
If a court orders you to get burial insurance for your ex-spouse, then a policy with no waiting period is optimal. That way, you’re fully insured immediately. The court would have no reason or cause to object to what you bought.
However, if you end up getting a policy with a two-year waiting period, they could protest since you’re not covered for 24 months.
Now, in some cases, a person cannot avoid a two-year waiting period policy, but it’s rare. In general, the only time a policy with a waiting period is unavoidable is when you have ultra-dire health issues such as end-stage cancer, dementia, or HIV.
If you have a history of challenging health issues, it’s wise to speak with an independent insurance broker. Independent brokers represent multiple insurance companies, so they can match you with the best one based on your background and needs.
Essentially, they will ask you about your health history to determine which company(ies) would approve you for an immediate benefit plan. By far the majority of applicants can indeed qualify for a day-one coverage policy.
Best Final Expense Insurance Companies For A Divorce Decree
Below are three of the best burial insurance companies to explore if you need final expense insurance for a divorce decree.
All of them have a simple buying process, mail and email policies quickly, and allow you to easily change beneficiaries in the future (if you ever need to).
- $10K Policy Cost$41.01/month*
- New Applicant Ages45-85
- Death Benefit Options$2K-$50K
- 2-Year Waiting PeriodNo
- $10K Policy Cost$47.60/month*
- New Applicant Ages40-89
- Death Benefit Options$2K-$50K
- 2-Year Waiting PeriodNo
- $10K Policy Cost$55.00/month*
- New Applicant Ages45-85
- Death Benefit Options$3,000-$25,000
- 2-Year Waiting PeriodYes
Frequently Asked Questions
In nearly every case, the family court judge will determine how much final expense coverage you’ll need. If no specific number has been defined, it’s best to ask the court what the coverage is intended to insure against. In other words, what specific expenses is the policy meant to cover (funeral costs, medical bills, debts, etc). Then you would estimate the total cost for all the relevant needs, and that would be approximately how much coverage to buy.
A final expense policy is still a type of life insurance and therefore pays out a tax-free cash benefit. All life insurance proceeds can be spent without restrictions. Therefore, the money could be used to cover alimony payments or literally anything else.
Each judge will respond differently to policies with waiting periods. That’s why it’s best to obtain an immediate benefit policy if you can; that way, there is no chance of an issue arising. However, if your health is such that a waiting period cannot be avoided, you’ll have to explain to the court that it’s your only option. This is where working with an insurance agent can be particularly helpful. If a court were to request a kind of proof that you could not avoid the waiting period, the agent you worked with would be able to assist.
In general, a life insurance policy meant to cover final expenses should be permanent since nobody knows when they will die. The risk with opting for a term life final expense policy is that you’ll outlive it. Then you would have no coverage to pay for funeral expenses. In the end, ask the court for clarification if you’re unsure.
Our Insurance Review Methodology
Every company we review has an overall score that illustrates how well it stands out in the market relative to its competitors. These scores are not subjective. Instead, we utilize a defined 5-star scoring system that applies a weighted average of particular factors, all of which are outlined below and on our review methodology page.
Coverage
Strength
Complaint Index
Hold Time
We measure the price of a company’s most popular policy relative to its competitors’. The closeness of their cost to other companies determines the final score. Read a full breakdown of the price of coverage factor on our review methodology page.
Coverage
Coverage
Strength
Complaint Index
Hold Time
This factor assesses whether a company offers immediate coverage and, if so, how difficult it is to qualify for it. Read a full breakdown of the no waiting period coverage factor on our review methodology page.
Strength
Coverage
Strength
Complaint Index
Hold Time
A company’s financial strength is based on its rating with A.M. Best. Read a full breakdown of the financial strength factor on our review methodology page.
Complaint Index
Coverage
Strength
Complaint Index
Hold Time
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ complaint index measures an insurer’s frequency of consumer complaints compared to the rest of the market. The score the insurer receives is based on how it stacks up to the median score of other insurers. Read a full breakdown of the NAIC complaint index factor on our review methodology page.
Hold Time
Coverage
Strength
Complaint Index
Hold Time
The customer support hold time score is based on the average amount of time it takes a company to connect an existing policyholder to a human customer service agent. Read a full breakdown of the customer support hold time factor in our review methodology page.
Why trust Choice Mutual?
When we review products, our findings are unbiased and free of any influence from partnerships or methods of compensation. All findings, good or bad, are solely the derivative of our objective analysis of any given product or company.
As noted on our review methodology page, our researchers evaluate the financial stability of the insurer, policy costs, product limitations, state availability, customer satisfaction, waiting periods (if applicable), and other relevant factors. We aggregate all this cumulative data to develop objective overall scores based on predefined weighted factors.
In addition, a qualified expert who is well-qualified to speak on the matter will provide opinion-based feedback about the company or product being reviewed.
For over a decade, Choice Mutual has been an insurance agency specializing in final expense life insurance. Our expertise in this type of insurance is well documented in numerous authoritative publications, some of which are listed below:
Choice Mutual’s mission is to provide consumers with unbiased, expert commentary and explanations of the topics under discussion. We want our readers to be armed with information and tools not found anywhere else on the internet, so they can make an informed decision.
All content on this website is written by Anthony Martin, a licensed life insurance agent with over a decade of industry expertise, who has been quoted hundreds of times as an expert source by reputable news outlets.
Per our editorial guidelines, we have never used and will never use artificial intelligence to create our content. Every word printed on this website is produced and curated entirely by human beings who have firsthand experience with the subject matter.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 16 years of experience.
- Personal annual production that puts him in the top .001% out of all life insurance agents in the nation.
Anthony Martin is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 16 years of experience and has personally served over 10,000 clients with their life insurance needs. He frequently authors entrepreneurial and life insurance content for Forbes, Inc.com, Newsweek, Kiplinger, and Entreprenuer.com. Anthony has been consulted as an expert life insurance source for dozens of high-profile websites such as Forbes, Bankrate, Reuters, Fox Business, CNBC, Investopedia, Insurance.com, Yahoo Finance, and many more.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 20 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author.
Jeff Root is a nationally licensed life insurance expert with over 20 years of experience. He has personally helped over 3000 clients with their life insurance needs. Jeff is a best-selling Amazon author and the managing partner of a highly successful insurance brokerage that manages over 2,500 licensed insurance agents across the USA. He has been a featured life insurance source for prestigious websites such as Forbes, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Nerdwallet, and many more.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 15 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author of five insurance sales books.
David Duford is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 15 years of experience. He has personally helped more than 1,500 clients buy life insurance. David has been featured as an expert source for highly authoritative publications such as A.M. Best and Insurancenewsnet. He also runs one of the largest YouTube channels to help aspiring insurance agents serve their clients better.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 20 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author.
Jeff Root is a nationally licensed life insurance expert with over 20 years of experience. He has personally helped over 3000 clients with their life insurance needs. Jeff is a best-selling Amazon author and the managing partner of a highly successful insurance brokerage that manages over 2,500 licensed insurance agents across the USA. He has been a featured life insurance source for prestigious websites such as Forbes, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Nerdwallet, and many more.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 15 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author of five insurance sales books.
David Duford is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 15 years of experience. He has personally helped more than 1,500 clients buy life insurance. David has been featured as an expert source for highly authoritative publications such as A.M. Best and Insurancenewsnet. He also runs one of the largest YouTube channels to help aspiring insurance agents serve their clients better.
