Divorce Complicates Health Insurance Coverage

cheap health insuranceFinding cheap health insurance is a justifiably high priority for most divorced dads.

Divorce entails far more than emotional and social disassociation. Physical separation from beloved children is also a very common by-product of acrimonious breakups. Most divorced dads desperately desire to retain an active role in their children’s everyday lives. Adequate ongoing financial support is just as vital as maintaining fundamental familial connections.

Indeed, contemporary courts seek to ensure essential economic assistance continuation by mandating non-custodial parents’ long-term life and health insurance maintenance. Such injunctions represent judicial attempts to vicariously provide for minor children without creating undue burdens on public purses.

Since divorced dads represent 82.2 percent of non-custodial parents, health insurance coverage is usually the father’s responsibility.

The following offers divorce tips for men on acquiring cheap health insurance.

Divorced dads often carry family plan employer-sponsored group health insurance. Altered familial composition due to divorce yields corresponding changes in “legal dependent” definitions.

Rather than a cohesive unit of coverage, insurers now regard your family as a financial “hodge podge” of respective risks. Even when continued coverage of minor children is available, an accompanying loss of family coverage discounts can result in considerable health insurance premium increases.

 

Major medical constitutes huge hidden divorce cost

When children are excluded from their fathers’ former group family plan, judges demand continued protection for the children.

What’s a father to do? Bite the bullet by paying associated costs, of course. Like monthly child support, health insurance maintenance – and required premiums – must go on.

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Health Insurance and Divorce

Cheap insurance quotes drastically defray cost of divorce

Insurance is an extremely competitive industry that is characterized by almost daily product innovation developments. Carriers constantly devise novel solutions designed to address changing social tides and demographic trends.

Moreover, insurers’ respective marketing objectives and business agendas must frequently adjust to rapidly shifting economic landscapes. Divorced parents with court-ordered insurance obligations constitute just such an emergent market segment.

Recognizing its vast potential, prudent insurers are implementing cheap insurance quotes designed to serve non-custodial parents’ special needs.

 

Split the bill with your former spouse

Ensure that your final divorce decree directs proportional sharing of children’s health insurance premiums between you and your former spouse. Suppose you earn $50,000 annually and your soon-to-be ex-wife brings in $30,000 each year.

You would bear only 62 percent of health insurance premium costs while she picked up the tab for the remaining 38 percent. Such percentage-based arrangements are equitable, as they reflect both parents’ respective incomes.

 

Seek modifications and child support alternatives

Most jurisdictions’ child support laws set forth formulaic guidelines for child support awards that permit very little court discretion for deviation therefore. These legislative provisions typically proscribe monthly child support payments equivalent to a specific percentage of a non-custodial parent’s income. Child support laws presume this figure to be fair and proper.

Divorced dads must keep in mind, however, that even court orders are not set in stone forever. The courthouse door remains open to petitioners who can subsequently present sufficiently compelling cases of significant income reduction or asset erosion. The law allows divorce courts’ leeway to factor such “material change in circumstances” into previous economic equations with modified financial calculations.

Husbands facing imminent divorce should bring to the court’s attention that bearing the full brunt of health insurance costs would create severe economic hardship. A reduced child support obligation to offset such health maintenance expenses often results.

For assistance in handling child support and health insurance matters, please contact the divorce lawyers for men at Cordell & Cordell – a partner men can count on.

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One comment on “Divorce Complicates Health Insurance Coverage

    I live in NC. My employer offers “Employee Only”, “Employee Plus One”, and “Family” health insurance options. I have two children. My ex and I used to split the difference between “Family” and “Employee Only” as the children’s share of the insurance premiums. Now I’m remarried and I can’t figure out how to calculate the childrens’ share of the premiums. Since the children alone push me to “Family” and the premiums are tied to child support and child support does not change when you remarry – should I still use the old process? Or, since I am now remarried, should I use the difference between “Family” and “Employee Plus One” meaning my new wife dramatically effects the premium shares? Or is there a standard negotiation? I can’t find any written guidance on this. A point in the right direction would be appreciated.

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