Health Benefits After Divorce

Keeping your health benefits after a divorce can be of great concern. If you are in the midst of separating from your spouse, being able to continue to get your same medical insurance under their employment, or otherwise, depends on a few different factors.

Geography

• Laws differ from state to state on what someone must continue to do for their ex-spouse after divorcing. Most states require that insurance must be kept for dependent children, but not always for the spouse.

Income

• The spouse who was the major provider can also come into play when it comes to keeping health benefits after a divorce. In cases of alimony, it can be written into the decree that insurance must also be kept up as part of it.

Time Frame

• If you are awarded alimony and successfully add the requirement that your medical expenses be kept up as well, the judge may set a time frame in which you need to find employment and your own insurance. This can vary from a reasonable amount of months to do so or, epecially if you have small children, even be contingent on it being paid until you remarry.

Considerations

• Other considerations such as you if have an incurable disease or longstanding issues that can hamper your ability to obtain other medical insurance can also effect whether you continue to receive the same health benefits after a divorce.

Warning

• No matter what your situation may be, work with your legal counsel to ensure that your health benefits, and those of your former spouse, are appropriately protected after divorce.