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Remedies Keyed to Tabb, 8th
Simonds v. Simonds
Citation:
45 N.Y.2d 233, 380 N.E.2d 189 (1978)Facts
On March 9, 1960, Frederick Simonds and his wife of 14 years, Mary Simonds, entered into a separation agreement that was incorporated into an Illinois divorce decree granted on March 31, 1960. The agreement required Frederick to maintain life insurance policies totaling $21,000 with Mary as beneficiary to the extent of at least $7,000, and to procure replacement insurance if any policies were canceled or lapsed. Less than two months after the divorce, Frederick married Reva Simonds, and they had a daughter, Gayle. The original insurance policies were canceled or lapsed at some point, and Frederick acquired three new policies totaling over $55,000, naming Reva and Gayle as beneficiaries but never naming Mary. When Frederick died on August 1, 1971, Mary received nothing despite the separation agreement, while Reva and Gayle collected all proceeds. The estate was insolvent, making an action for breach of contract against the estate fruitless.
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