Ways to ensure you avoid insurance entanglements in divorce

On behalf of The Marks Law Firm, L.L.C posted in Divorce on Thursday, September 13, 2012

One of the many often complicated issues that should be addressed in every divorce is insurance. If one spouse has been covered by their former spouse’s health insurance, they are likely to need to find another way of making sure they get needed health care.

Health insurance isn’t the only form of insurance that is likely to need adjustments following a divorce. There’s also home insurance, life insurance and auto insurance.

Reuters recently had an article on ways to avoid going without insurance, being underinsured or having too much insurance following a marital split.

While it might appear to be convenient to some to keep their ex-spouse on their health insurance plan after their split, experts say such a plan to fool the insurer into thinking the couple is still married could easily blow up.

“If there’s a problem and your carrier finds out the ex shouldn’t be covered, they can drop him or her because of insurance fraud,” one attorney said. “Do you really want to take that risk?”

For some people, the choices are going to be difficult after divorce. If they’re unemployed, self-employed or working for an employer who doesn’t offer health care plans, they might have to go without insurance or spend a lot of money on a plan in the open market.

A single, divorced person can expect to pay around $300 per month for health insurance, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

If there are children involved, it can quickly become more complicated, with couples needing to figure out whose insurance plan will cover the kids and how those costs should be divvied up.

Our Missouri firm assists people in matters of family law. For more information, go to our St. Louis divorce page.

Source: Reuters, “How to untangle your insurance plans in divorce,” Geoff Williams, Sept. 11, 2012

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