Case Spotlight – Lathrop v. Lathrop

In this case, the appellate court found that the trial court erred in requiring that the former husband, James Lathrop, maintain a life insurance policy in order to secure alimony payments.  The appellate court stated that “in the absence of special circumstances, a spouse cannot be required to maintain life insurance for the purpose of securing an alimony obligation.”  There must be a showing of sufficient findings of special circumstances to support such a requirement for life insurance. Here, no special circumstances was establish that would justify requiring James Lathrop to maintain a life insurance policy.