In most marriages, one spouse often is responsible for both partners, if not the entire family, through their own health insurance plan, whether it is through their job or through a personal plan. Once a divorce takes place, that health coverage for the other spouse, and even the children, could be ended. Both state federal laws protect families that are at risk of no longer having health insurance; this is especially true for children. That being said, it is still important that you look over your family’s health insurance plan prior to divorce to avoid a disastrous situation.

Because of the importance of health insurance in our everyday lives, there are instances where a divorce decree can insure that the spouse who had provided the health coverage during the marriage will continue to do so post-divorce. This is very likely to happen if the other spouse was not working or employed by a company that offered health insurance to its employees, and therefore has no immediate access to health coverage.

If you were the spouse that was responsible for the health coverage, chances are that you will have to pay extra premiums to extend coverage for both your former spouse and children. There are group policies that do allow the continuation of full coverage for your family post-divorce, but be prepared for this to change if you choose to remarry and then want to include your new family in your policy. However, for logistics sake, the premium for a group family plan is usually less expensive than two separate coverage plans for you and your former spouse.

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