Is my husband entitled to my critical illness payout?

[PatsyKPS]

I am separating from my husband as constantly gets us in to debt due to his drink and drug habit. In December i found out the extent of his coke habit and I vowed to never give him another penny - I have always been the breadwinner and we have 2 kids and he has a job but spends his income on his habits. So I have been diagnosed with breast cancer and because we have a joint policy I am worried he will be entitled to half the critical illness payout. I want it to help me and the kids . If he gets half it will go on drink, hash and cocaine. Does he have a right to half of it and would he get half if it went to court and I told them what he spends it on? I have evidence of his drug use. Any advice welcomed!

I am no legal expert but I would imagine that it will be a marital asset so yes. However, if you can prove you are separated then possibly not.

You could ring the insurance company and ask, there may be something in the small print. I don't know the answer but maybe there is some form of expression of wish form or you just cancel his name. If you are separating does he need to be included, could it be your children and yourself. I hope you are ok.

Yes I wonder if you can change the beneficiary?

Ask a solicitor.

Get yourself a good lawyer. I get an ill-health pension, some of which I got early. And no, XH wasn't entitled to it.

You might be able to argue that as it is your ill-health it should be to provide for you as you are separated. This is certainly possible with redundancy payments when the other partner is still working. Think you need to get some advice from the insurers and maybe then some legal advice.

If it’s a joint policy, paid out on first beneficiary, I think he would be

Thanks for the input - I guess solicitors is first step. It's as good a place to start as any!

Is it a one off payment or an amount paid each month and for what period of time?

Any cash you have will become a marital asset AFAIK. I agree you need to see a solicitor and check what the policy says in the event of a split. And good point - the question is it a lump sum or is it an amount payable monthly.

I think this is similar to the Mansfield, and Wagstaff cases and the answer is it depends on all the circumstances. From what you have outlined the answer is probably no because the money is to help you with your illness, and because your husband has addiction issues and the money would probably not be spent on him finding alternative accommodation and ensuring he has a property in which to see the children, but, as you have said, on drink and drugs.

Be careful with using solicitors because the costs can rack up very quickly which means less money all round to divide up. They are good to find out to what you entitled and then you may find mediation a good idea providing you are good at fighting your corner.

Our critical illness payout was a lump sum but I guess it depends on the policy.

I contacted the insurance agency and they sent out a form to remove him and a recalculation of premiums to just insure me. He did have to sign it though, so depends on if he is agreeing?

You have to show that you have tried mediation before you can apply to court.

Some precedents do not look good in terms of keeping it separate
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1354470/Disabled-crash-victim-fights-save-home-ex-wife-wins-500k-damages.html

If I am keeping and raising the kids would this be in my favour?

MY EXh didn’t get his hands on mine

If he has substance misuse issues would he still get a critical illness pay out for himself if the illness is related to his addiction. Does it need to be a joint policy, could you just have a single policy with your sole name on it with named beneficiaries. Who is paying the policy cover payments.

This kind of payment can be ringfenced in divorce proceedings as it is paid out for your benefit - it is you affected by illness.

Speak to the insurance company and have a look at Wikivorce website for advice from experienced folk about the payment

A joint policy is owned by both of you so any claim will be payable to you both. The insurer shouldn’t make the payment without signed authority from you both. This is irrespective of who pays the premiums and who the claim is being made for.

The insurer may agree to split the payment in half and pay to two different bank accounts.

You are unlikely to be able to “split” the policy into two single life policies as you have now suffered a claimable event. But this may be an option if you have any other policies e.g a pure life insurance policy. Speak to your insurer if this is the case.

The only other option would be to absolutely assign the policy to you, in which case you would be come the sole legal owner so all benefits would be paid to you.

I am well confused now as some of you are saying he wouldn't get a penny and others that he would get half with it being a joint policy. So I guess it's all based on individual cases?

Can the policy be assigned now the claim request has been made?

I used to assess and pay critical illness claims for an insurer so my response is based on my experience there. I have seen situations like this many times before and our legal dept always advised us to obtain agreement from both policyholders on where payment should be made, or we could split the payment into two and pay half each.

Speak to your insurer and I’d expect them to advise the same. Also ask about their deeds of assignment - you should take legal advice about this as I think whether you can do it now after submitting a claim will depend on the wording of the deed.

Sorry just to add, I’m very sorry to hear about your diagnosis and I wish you well in your treatment and recovery

People have different results because agreements can be made. If you and ex can mediate and agree on things, then it won’t end up in court, where you will be arguing against the basic “everything in a pot and split in half”. Then you can come to decisions that suit you both. And you may be surprised at what he would agree to in mediation, with trained people present, he may be quite reasonable.

Thank you again for all your comments. If turns out neither of us have any choice in the matter as 20 yrs ago when we were young and stupid we linked the cover to pay off the mortgage balance. As it's an endowment we won't actually get a penny. Just a monthly mortgage payment saving for the remainder of its term. But your input and concern has been appreciated so thank you. X