Divorce Lawyers Directory Blog

For many years, it has been common practice for people to insure their cars, homes, lives, and personal property. There are even some insurance companies, such as Lloyds of London, which will insure body parts for athletes and celebrities who make their living based on the condition of these parts. Recently, the concept of insurance has been taken to a whole new level. A company was established that will insure your marriage against divorce.

John Logan is a North Carolina entrepreneur who endured a "world-class nasty divorce" back in 2001. After adding up the massive expenses associated with his divorce, Logan began to question why people don't have an opportunity to protect themselves from this extreme financial burden. And like that, WedLock Divorce Insurance was born.

WedLock began selling divorce insurance policies last month, and the company already has several policy holders. Just as with life insurance, you can decide how large you want your policy to be. Your monthly premium will be based on the total amount of money you would receive in the event of a divorce. There is one catch though. You must have your policy for at least three years before filing a claim. This rule is designed to prevent people from setting up a policy after they realize their marriage is irrevocably broken in an attempt to minimize the damage to their bank account.

Is this a good idea? Clearly, it will relieve some of the financial burden experienced during a divorce. But by taking out a divorce insurance policy, are you dooming your marriage from the start?

This is different from a prenuptial agreement. Those agreements are designed to clearly establish how assets will be distributed in the event of a divorce, and they are commonly used to protect individuals entering into a marriage on significantly unequal financial footing. These agreements are especially useful in second marriages when a couple wants to make sure their assets go to their children instead of their spouse.

In contrast, divorce insurance isn't protecting assets acquired prior to the marriage. It is just a safety net to ensure that you do not squander valuable income paying for an expensive divorce. I can't imagine starting a marriage off with that discussion. But apparently, there are some people out there who think it is a good idea. After all, they bought policies.