Health Insurance for Your Children After Your Divorce

Health insurance has become a very expensive requirement for adults and children.  In the last 10 years we have seen radical changes in federal law, options, availability and costs. When you are getting a divorce, we will talk about how each spouse will obtain coverage after your divorce and how your children will be covered.  

Who is responsible for providing health insurance for your children after your divorce?

Your divorce should spell out in great detail how health insurance will be purchased and maintained for each of your children after your divorce.  While your children may be young, it is important to put a plan in place for their health insurance that extends through the commitment you want to make to them.  This includes when they are minors but also if you are going to provide coverage for them until they finish college.  It should include medical insurance as well as dental and orthodontic coverage.

Typically, at the time of the divorce the spouse with the best and most cost effective health insurance will take the children on his/her health insurance plan.  If there is a cost associated with the coverage for the children, we will work with you to ensure it is offset by expenses the other spouse will be paying.   

The following are typical scenarios that should be addressed:

• What happens if the cost changes?  Health insurance costs are on the rise with no end in sight.   If you are going to pay for health insurance coverage while your ex pays other bills for the children, what will happen when your costs exceed theirs?  How will you address that imbalance after your divorce?
• What will you do if the parent with health insurance loses his/her job?  In addition to rising health insurance premiums, we also see the employment landscape drastically changing.  A secure job today may be gone tomorrow. COBRA costs to bridge the gap can be exorbitant so how coverage will be provided during this time must be addressed.
• If one spouse is older what is going to happen upon retirement?  If you will be retiring when your children are minors or college age, your availability to cover their health insurance may change as well.  It is important to stipulate how your retirement will change options and costs and how these will be handled between you and the other parent.    
• How will your children have health insurance if one spouse passes away?  You would be amazed at the myriad of issues created by a spouse passing away when you have minor and college aged children. Life insurance can take time to process and the estate may not settle quickly.  If something should happen to the parent providing insurance, will the other parent have the funds to provide health insurance for the children?  

As always, your divorce decree should state that both parents agree to work together when issues arise when raising children, and health insurance should be specifically mentioned.  Many times these issues arise post-divorce and it can be helpful to visit with a mediator to quickly work through them and then address them with the court.  With the radical changes mentioned above, we can not look into our crystal ball to see the future so a spirit of collaboration in working this out for the sake of your children is needed.