I am a divorced mother of two daughters. I'd like to take out an insurance policy on their father, my ex-husband, in order to cover the money he contributes to child support in the event he passes. Is that possible? Does it require his consent?

Yes, it should be possible to get a life insurance policy on your ex-husband, but it will require his consent.

Since your ex-husband pays child support for your daughters, you have an insurable interest in him, which is what allows you to take out a life insurance policy on him with you as the beneficiary.

You can’t keep the policy a secret from your daughter’s father since he will need to consent to medical records being released, a medical exam for the life insurance provider and sign papers.

It’s difficult to take a secret life insurance policy out on someone, which we consider a good thing. 

If your ex-husband dislikes the idea of you being the beneficiary of a life insurance policy on him, then you could look into setting up a trust as the beneficiary rather than yourself.  That way the money goes into a trust for their benefit, although you could still be the executor of the trust. Here’s more on life insurance trusts for child beneficiaries.