When my husband divorced, his ex-wife got the house and was ordered to use her “best endeavours” to release him from his obligations under the mortgage. However my husband is still responsible for paying off the mortgage if she fails to use the lump sum at the end of the term to pay it, or if she dies. This is a huge threat hanging over us.
The ex-wife won’t have the option of defaulting on the mortgage at the end of the fixed term, since the proceeds from the policy will almost certainly be signed over to the lender. And the policy will pay off the loan if she were to die. If there’s a shortfall, or if the ex-wife fails to keep up repayments, the lender would probably repossess the house and sell it before approaching your husband for money.