Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland
violation of divorce decree
what punitive damages can be asked
for when ex-husband has not
complied with keeping a life
insurance policy on his children as
per divorce decree? He cancelled it
for 5 years. I filled a motion and
have a hearing in March. Is there
any punitive damages I can ask for
for that period of time he did not
have a life insurance policy. He has
violated every other aspect of the
divorce decree. why not this one?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: violation of divorce decree
I have never heard of punitive damages being assessed in a situation such as this. If he failed to obey a court order, the remedy is civil contempt of court. As to actual damages that you may be compensated for, you would have to show that an actual loss occurred. If he was merely required to maintain a life insurance policy, then there would be no actual monetary loss. If he were ordered to maintain a policy that accumulated cash value (and I suspect this is not the case), then you may be able to show a loss.