§ 19-6-34.Inclusion of life insurance in order of support

Yes, but it’s up to the judge. In any case involving child support, the court may include a life insurance provision in the support order and may order either parent or both parents to obtain and maintain the coverage for the benefit of the minor children. The insurance can be on one parent’s life or both. Nothing requires the court to order it, so whether it does depends on the facts of your case.

It can. The court may treat the premium as a deviation from the presumptive amount of child support under § 19-6-15, which lets the court add or subtract the premium. Before doing so, the court must review the premium for reasonableness under the circumstances of the case and the child’s best interest. A premium that looks out of line with the family’s situation may not be counted.

Usually until the child reaches the age of majority. A support order can’t require coverage, or require the proceeds to stay available for the child, past that point. The court may extend it for a child who has never married or been emancipated, is enrolled in and attending secondary school, and reached majority before finishing — but never past age 20. It may also extend it for a dependent adult child as § 19-6-15.1 defines that term.

Yes. The judge or jury, in its sound discretion, may direct either or both parents to maintain life insurance for a dependent adult child. Under § 19-6-15.1, that means an unmarried person who has reached the age of majority and can’t support himself or herself because of a physical or mental incapacity that began before reaching majority. Unlike the high-school exception, this one carries no age 20 cutoff in the text.

Yes. The section says nothing in it prevents parents from agreeing to life insurance terms that differ from or exceed what it provides. So a settlement agreement can require coverage beyond the age limits this section places on court orders, or other terms that differ from what a judge could impose on a parent alone. The court-ordered limits in this section restrict what the judge can impose, not what parents can agree to.