Life Insurance and Child Support: What Laws Say (and How to Protect Your Children)
When parents divorce or separate, child support becomes essential for children’s financial stability. But what happens if the parent ordered to pay support dies unexpectedly? Or what if that parent owes back child support at the time of death?
Many families are shocked to learn that life insurance is one of the primary tools legislatures and government agencies use to secure child support obligations. Both state statutes and federal child-support enforcement programs allow courts or agencies to require life insurance, intercept life insurance proceeds, or redirect benefits to ensure children receive the support owed to them. But most parents don’t know how these rules work, or that they exist.
This article breaks down government sources that define how life insurance interacts with child support, and what steps parents should take to ensure their children are protected.
1. Federal Child Support Enforcement: Insurance Match & Intercept Programs
The backbone of national child-support enforcement comes from the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), part of the Department of Health and Human Services under the Administration for Children & Families (ACF).
Federal Source:
ACF — Insurance Match Program
https://acf.gov/css/outreach-material/child-support-and-insurance-match-program
What the Federal Program Does
The Insurance Match Program enables federal and state child-support agencies to:
Match people who owe child support with insurance claims (including life insurance policies)
Intercept payouts before they reach the claimant
Apply intercepted funds to past-due child support
This means:
✔ If a parent dies owing child support, life insurance proceeds may be intercepted.
✔ Even private life insurance is subject to match if the insurer participates in state reporting.
✔ The federal government views life insurance as a legitimate enforcement mechanism.
This program is real, widespread, and legally binding.
2. Texas — Mandatory Life-Insurance Reporting & Intercept for Child Support
State Source:
Texas Attorney General — Child Support Division
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/insurance-reporting-and-intercept-program
Texas operates one of the most robust intercept systems in the country. Insurers must:
Report claimants to the state before releasing life-insurance funds
Check whether the person listed in a claim owes child support
Redirect proceeds to satisfy child-support arrears before paying beneficiaries
Why this matters for divorcing parents
Even if a child is not listed as the beneficiary, arrears may still be paid out of the policy.
Beneficiaries often lose part or all of a life-insurance payout if arrears exist.
How life insurance designations tied to child support obligations operate after divorce — and what happens when the insured remarries.
In Gray v. Nash (Tex. App. 2008), the insured father designated his ex-wife to receive the first $60,000 of his life insurance policy as part of a child-support obligation. Years later, his support obligation ended and he remarried — but he never changed the beneficiary designation. When he died, his new wife claimed the money. The Texas Court of Appeals held that the ex-wife still gets the $60,000 because the written beneficiary designation controls, and terminating child support does not cancel a beneficiary form. Texas law also grants a continuing insurable interest to anyone named as beneficiary. This case is a major reminder that even if a child support obligation ends, a beneficiary designation naming the ex-spouse remains valid unless the insured actually changes after the divorce.
3. Washington — Insurance Claim Reporting for Child Support Collection
State Source:
Washington DSHS — Division of Child Support
https://www.dshs.wa.gov/esa/division-child-support/insurance-claims-reporting
Washington requires insurers to:
Report claims, including life insurance
Allow the state to determine whether child support is owed
Intercept proceeds where authorized
Why this matters:
A custodial parent does not have to guess whether they can recover unpaid child support — the state may automatically intervene.
Beneficiary designations may be overruled if arrears exist.
Washington’s program reinforces the national trend: life insurance is legally intertwined with support enforcement.
4. Florida — Court-Ordered Life Insurance to Secure Child Support
State Statute:
Fla. Stat. § 61.13(1)(c)
https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.13.html
Florida courts may require a parent to:
Purchase or maintain life insurance,
Obtain a bond, or
Provide other security
…to protect a child-support award.
The statute requires courts to consider:
Cost of coverage
Availability
The needs of the children
Florida offers explicit statutory authority for using life insurance as a financial safeguard for children after divorce.
What happens if the court finds there is no need for life insurance protections?
In Alvarez v. Stochetti (Fla. 3d DCA 2025), the court reversed a trial judge’s requirement that a father maintain life insurance to secure child support because the judge made no findings about whether the coverage was necessary, affordable, or available. Florida Statute § 61.13(1)(c) allows life-insurance orders only when supported by specific evidence and “special circumstances.” This case confirms that life-insurance requirements cannot be imposed automatically — judges must carefully justify them, and parents may challenge unsupported orders.
5. New York — Life Insurance as Security for Child Support Orders
State Statute:
New York Family Court Act § 416
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/FCT/416
New York courts may order a parent to:
Maintain life insurance
Make the child (or custodial parent) the beneficiary
Secure payment of child support and medical expenses
This applies not just in divorce, but in ANY proceeding involving support — giving NY courts extremely broad authority.
6. New Jersey — Courts Can Require Life Insurance for Children’s Benefit
State Statute:
N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:34-23(d)
https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/2013/title-2a/section-2a-34-23/
New Jersey courts may require either parent to:
Maintain life insurance
For the benefit of children or the other parent
In addition to support obligations
New Jersey views life insurance as a standard component of protecting a child’s right to future support.
7. Massachusetts — Court May Order Life Insurance in Divorce Cases Involving Children
State Statute:
M.G.L. c. 208 § 36
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter208/Section36
Massachusetts courts may require life insurance:
For the benefit of minor children
To secure payment of support
The amount and structure of coverage are left to the judge’s discretion based on the needs of the children.
8. Illinois — Life Insurance as Security for Child Support Obligations
State Statute:
750 ILCS 5/505(3)(f)
https://ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=075000050K505
Illinois allows courts to require:
Life insurance,
Bonds, or
Other security
…to guarantee payment of child support.
Illinois courts regularly use life insurance to secure obligations in divorce and parentage cases.
9. Georgia - A divorce court has the discretion to require a parent to maintain life insurance for the benefit of minor children—even if the parent does not agree to it.
In Jarvis v. Jarvis (2012), the Georgia Supreme Court upheld a divorce decree requiring a father to maintain a $500,000 life insurance policy for the benefit of his ex-wife and minor children. The court confirmed that Georgia law (OCGA § 19-6-34) gives judges broad discretion to require life insurance as security for child support—even without the parent’s agreement. The court also approved a clause requiring the father’s estate to temporarily continue child-support payments if insurance proceeds are delayed, ensuring uninterrupted support for the children. This case highlights Georgia’s strong legal protections requiring parents to secure child support with life insurance.
1. Georgia courts have broad power to protect children financially.
They can require large life-insurance policies, even over objection.
2. Life insurance is treated as a standard child-support security tool.
Courts expect parents to maintain adequate coverage.
3. Courts can require the estate to bridge the gap if insurance payouts are delayed.
4. Parents cannot escape financial responsibility by refusing life insurance.
This authority exists even without the parent’s agreement.
Courts may impose the requirement as part of ensuring children are financially protected.
The husband did not show that the trial court abused its discretion.
What happens when secret beneficiary changes violate a divorce decree and how do courts limit payouts when insurance was intended only as security for child support?
Even when the insured violates the divorce decree and improperly changes the beneficiary, courts do not automatically award the former spouse the full policy unless that was the intended benefit. If the decree shows the insurance was meant only as security for child support, the ex-spouse may receive only the amount of child support lost due to the death, not a windfall.
In Kinard v. Kinard (D. Colo. 2011), a divorce decree required the husband to keep his ex-wife as beneficiary of his life insurance to secure child support and maintenance, but he secretly switched the beneficiary to his new wife. When he died with 14 months of maintenance still unpaid, both women fought for the $409,000 policy. The court ruled that although the beneficiary change violated the decree, the ex-wife was not entitled to the entire policy. Because the insurance was intended only as security for remaining support obligations, the ex-wife could recover only the value of unpaid maintenance, not a windfall. The remainder of the policy belonged to the new wife. This case highlights that when life insurance in divorce is meant as support security, courts often award only the remaining obligation—not the full policy amount.
What All These Laws Tell Us
Across the country, government agencies and courts view life insurance as:
✔ A legally recognized tool for securing child support
✔ A source of funds that can be intercepted for arrears
✔ A financial safety net that must be maintained as part of support planning
When parents fail to maintain required life insurance — or when beneficiaries are set incorrectly — children may lose essential protection unless the state intervenes.
Common Scenarios Families Face
These are situations I regularly see in my legal practice:
1. Divorce decree requires life insurance — but the parent lets the policy lapse
→ Children end up unprotected, and litigation follows.
2. Parent dies owing arrears
→ Some state and federal programs may intercept proceeds before beneficiaries are paid.
3. Parent names a new spouse instead of the children
→ Courts may impose equitable remedies when statutes allow — but beneficiaries often lose time and funds.
4. Parent fails to obtain life insurance, and the custodial parent never knew
→ Children may have zero recourse if no policy exists and no intercept applies.
5. Beneficiary designation conflicts with a support order
→ Court may enforce the order if state law authorizes such security.
How to Protect Your Children — Based on Government Rules
✔ 1. Ask the court to require life insurance
If you are negotiating child support, ask for a clause requiring the obligated parent to maintain coverage — as authorized in FL, NY, NJ, MA, IL.
✔ 2. Make sure the right beneficiaries are listed
Usually the children, custodial parent, or a trust.
✔ 3. Require proof of coverage
Courts can order annual renewal proof or beneficiary updates.
✔ 4. Track child-support arrears
If arrears exist, insurers may intercept proceeds automatically (TX, WA, federal OCSE system).
✔ 5. Review policies after every major event
New job, remarriage, divorce modification — all can affect coverage needs.
When to Call a Lawyer
You should contact an attorney if:
You need a support order that includes mandatory life insurance
A parent died and you believe a life insurance policy exists
You think your children may be entitled to intercepted funds
You want to enforce a decree requiring life insurance
You're unsure whether a beneficiary designation complies with state law
I handle these issues and can help analyze statutes, insurance, and support orders to secure children’s rights.
