Divorce isn’t cheap. You can walk into a county courthouse in most places in this country and walk out married for less than $100 or so. A divorce attorney is likely to charge twice that – per hour. Divorce is almost never a positive thing financially, no matter which side you’re on. The fact of the matter is that the only financial winners in most divorces are the divorce lawyers.

Still, there is one way that a divorce might save you money. Potentially, depending on your situation, you may be able to lower your term life insurance premiums after a divorce.

So, how do you approach the situation? You start by making an assessment of your current life insurance standing and your needs:

• Review the policies that were in effect during your marriage.
• Figure out which of those policies you need to keep, and which you don’t.
• Decide whether you may actually need new life insurance given the new reality.

If you have children, the fact of the matter is that your life insurance premiums may not go down. You probably don’t want to reduce your coverage. In fact, if you weren’t the primary breadwinner in your family before the divorce, you may actually need to open a new life insurance policy, which will wind up costing you more.

You want to make sure you have enough coverage that your kids will be provided for if you pass away. The duration of the policy should carry your youngest child through college, if at all possible.

Another important issue to consider is your beneficiaries. In your existing live insurance policies, your ex-spouse is probably listed as the primary beneficiary. Even after a divorce, if you don’t make a change to this, your spouse will still be listed. You need to ask for a change of beneficiary form from your insurance company.

(Incidentally, you should do the same thing with other financial accounts. This would include, but not be limited to things like your IRA from work, other types of insurance, bank accounts and any investments you might have.)