Insurance Coverage Archives - Ohio Family Law Blog

How Your Health Insurance is Affected by an Ohio Divorce

Will My Health Insurance Coverage End During A Pending Divorce Proceeding? COBRA Law And Other Options To Consider

I recently realized that I had not posted a blog about health insurance and divorce in 10 years. Click here to read that one titled Health Insurance: Divorce Often Ends Coverage for Women. It is still worth reading after all those years!

YOUR SPOUSE CAN NOT CANCEL YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE DURING THE PENDENCY OF YOUR DIVORCE OR DISSOLUTION CASE.

In Ohio, Ohio Revised Code Section 3105.71 prohibits cancellation of health insurance coverage prior to the divorce court deciding responsibility. So that law preserves the status quo as it relates to maintaining health insurance coverage during the divorce. This is also true even if the insurance “open enrollment” period occurs during the divorce proceeding. Click here to read that statute. But what happens when the divorce cases ends?

The good news is that upon the termination of your marriage, there are various options to consider. Here are the basics.

DOES ONE SPOUSE PROVIDE HEALTH INSURANCE FOR BOTH SPOUSES?

If you both are on the same health insurance plan, you will likely need to take some steps to maintain your health insurance … Read More... “How Your Health Insurance is Affected by an Ohio Divorce”

Do Divorce Courts Monitor the Final Divorce Decree to be Sure All Terms Have Been Completed?

The short answer is “no”. I had a client call today wondering if the Court gave her Ex a few months longer to refinance the marital residence and pay her off because of the COVID-19 situation. I explained to her that the Court does not review Divorce Decrees after filing to monitor compliance. That responsibility falls on each party. So, the Court would have no idea if the refinance had occurred or not. I told her that is her task to nudge her Ex about the refinance or to rehire me to send him a letter and take the necessary legal steps to file a Contempt action to get the refinance completed or the house listed for sale.

The Court Support Enforcement Agency will do recordkeeping on child and spousal support paid through it. In certain cases, they will help bring Contempt actions against delinquent obligors. Generally, each party needs to create a checklist of “to-do” items still remaining upon receiving their copy of the Final Judgment and Decree of Divorce.

POSSIBLE POST DECREE CHECKLIST ITEMS

Here is a partial list of items that may still need to be done after the Court has divorced you:

Transfer vehicles and

Important Steps to Take After Your Divorce Has Been Completed!

Divorce Finalized? Financial And Legal Steps To Take Before You Can Start Your New Life!

Hooray! Your divorce has been finalized and although it is a time filled with mixed emotions, it is a relief to know that the bickering is over, the court proceedings are over, the paperwork is over, and keeping your attorney on speed dial is over. However, before you start adjusting to your single life, there are a few things, both financially and legally, that you need to pay attention to.

Number 1: Thoroughly Review Your Divorce Decree

Why, you might ask? Of course you know what you agreed to, however it is easy to forget the small details regarding what your obligations and responsibilities. Have all the mentioned provisions been completed? For example, was a deed to have been filed? Are there are deadlines, such as amounts due for child support or for alimony? You should mark your calendar and write down any deadlines to be sure you meet all your obligations timely. Mark down the deadlines for your ex and contact your attorney if they are not met.

Number 2: Update Your Health Insurance Coverage

Typically, if you were covered under you ex’s health … Read More... “Important Steps to Take After Your Divorce Has Been Completed!”

New Insurance Product to Guarantee Child and Spousal Support Payments During Unemployment

Often times when a couple divorces, a court will order one party to pay spousal support in Ohio and/or child support if there are minor children involved. And while it can seem that every, last detail from property division, to health insurance and retirement benefits is hammered out in the final decree, there may be an area that is too often overlooked.

What happens if the party obligated to pay child or spousal support suddenly becomes unemployed? Then what?

The Great American Insurance Group now offers Marital Settlement Agreement Insurance (“MSAI”), to insure divorce obligations during periods of unemployment. The program, which has been 40 years in the making, was developed by Richard S. Zizian, J.D., of the Zizian Agency in San Diego, California. It is now available in all states except Hawaii and Alaska.

Insurance Group Offers Spousal Support And Child Support Payments During Times Of Unemployment

In order to qualify, a person must be a full-time, W-2 wage earner. The holder can choose to pay the premiums annually, quarterly or monthly. The policy pays up to 24 weeks of benefits per year for child and/or spousal support payments. In addition, it covers obligations ranging from $450 to $9000 … Read More... “New Insurance Product to Guarantee Child and Spousal Support Payments During Unemployment”

Life Insurance Policies on Ex-Spouses: Can and Should a Divorce Court Allow These?

Spousal Support Can Be Secured With A Life Insurance Policy

In today’s world, it is not uncommon for married spouses to take out life insurance policies on one another. Of course, if you’re happily married, you hope and pray that you’ll never be in the place of having to cash one in. Nevertheless, such policies provide some “peace of mind” that should the unthinkable happen, the financial burden caused by such a tragedy may be a little easier to bear.

So, having a life insurance policy on your spouse makes sense, right? But what about having a life insurance policy on your ex, or soon-to-be ex-spouse? Can and should a divorce court allow this?

Many people would argue that in divorce cases where child support or spousal support is ordered, it is smart to have a life insurance policy in place on the parent who is obligated to pay. By doing so, it ensures that the children or receiving spouse will be supported even if the other spouse dies.

Therefore, it is fairly common for a spouse who wants to guarantee support, to request that their soon-to-be ex-spouse carry a policy naming them as the beneficiary.

Life insurance policies guaranteeing … Read More... “Life Insurance Policies on Ex-Spouses: Can and Should a Divorce Court Allow These?”

Health Insurance: Divorce Often Ends Coverage for Women

How Effective Will The Affordable Care Act Be For Women Suffering Health Insurance Loss After Divorce?

Approximately 115,000 women lose their private health insurance every year as a result of divorce, according to a recent University of Michigan study. “Given that approximately one million divorces occur each year in the U.S., and that many women get health insurance coverage through their husbands, the impact is quite substantial,” said Bridget Lavelle, a U-M doctoral candidate in public policy and sociology, and lead author of the study which appears in the December issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

Many women who lost their health insurance coverage remained uninsured for more than two years following their splits, according to the researchers who analyzed data from women between the ages of 26 and 64 from 1996 through 2007.

Lavelle conducted the study, which analyzes nationally representative longitudinal data from 1996 through 2007 on women ages 26-64, with U-M sociologist Pamela Smock. Their research was supported by the U-M National Poverty Canter.

Among the other key findings of the study according to a University of Michigan press release:

Each year, roughly 65,000 divorced women lose all health insurance coverage in the months

Care Insurance: Long-Term Health Care Update

How Ohio’s Long-Term Care Insurance Program Can Make Sense For You!

Care Insurance It is now almost 5 years since Ohio’s long-term care partnership program was implemented in order to allow Medicaid participants to protect more of their assets from the Medicaid spend down process. With the rising cost of long-term care and the effect that the recession has had on most individual’s savings, this program is more valuable than ever. A long-term health care insurance policy that meets certain criteria can provide tremendous savings and asset protection against future health care needs by allowing an individual to shelter an amount of assets equal to the amount of coverage under the policy.

Once again, the policy must meet the following criteria:

Must be issued after September 10,2007;
The insured must be a resident of Ohio when coverage first becomes effective;
The policy must be a federally tax qualified plan based on IRS Code;
The policy must meet strict consumer protection standards; and
The policy must include certain protections against inflations.

It was recently estimated that a 65 year old has almost a fifty percent chance of spending some time in a long-term care facility. The average length of stay is 2 ½ … Read More... “Care Insurance: Long-Term Health Care Update”

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