When a husband breaches a life insurance agreement that expressly requires the husband to maintain the policy, does the wife have a right to enforce the agreement at the time the husband breached the agreement?

In further support of her argument, Respondent cites DeBenedattis v. DeBenedattis [144 AD2d 527 (2d Dept. 1988)], which similarly concerned a separation agreement that expressly required the husband to maintain a life insurance policy. The DeBenedattis court held that the moment the husband failed to maintain his life insurance policy in 1971, he breached the separation agreement. Thus, when the wife sought to enforce the agreement 15 years later in 1986, her claim was time-barred. The DeBenedattis court noted, however, that the wife had been specifically informed of the husband's breach at the exact time the breach occurred: "Significantly, the defendant was advised in 1971 that the premiums had not been paid and that the policy had lapsed." DeBenedattis v. DeBenedattis, 144 AD2d 527, 527 (2d Dept. 1988).