Divorce & Insurance: What to Consider in Florida
No divorce is easy. Dissolving your marriage involves a great deal of emotion, tension, and stress. However, you must ensure that your legal and financial interests are protected. This includes insurance policies that cover you and your family. You will need to determine how your coverage will change once your Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage has been entered. Health, dental, vision, and life insurance are the primary policies that you will need to review and consider during your divorce. A highly rated divorce law firm with excellent reviews like the Law Offices of Matthew Z. Martell, P.A. that handles divorce cases Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, and Venice, Florida can help you with these divorce insurance issues.
Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
If your spouse makes more money than you, then you probably are already covered under his or her employer-sponsored group health insurance plan. During the divorce, in the 12th Judicial Circuit of Florida, which is Sarasota, Manatee, and Desoto counties, spouses are prohibited from terminating coverage for the other covered spouse and/or children under existing health, dental, vision insurance plans until the divorce is fully completed. Once the divorce is fully completed, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) allows you to continue receiving health insurance coverage under your ex spouse’s health insurance plan for up to three years after the Final Judgment has been entered in your divorce. Once this 3-year time period is up, then you will need to find your own health, dental, and vision insurance. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 provides a range of options for those who don’t have access to employer-sponsored health insurance. Therefore, you should explore the alternatives available to you under this law.
Life Insurance
You can make life insurance part of the divorce settlement. If you expect to receive child support and/or alimony, your lawyer can negotiate the continued payment of life insurance as part of that support maintenance. However, it will put control over the policy in the hands of your ex-spouse. Normally, Sarasota divorce attorneys require that you be named as an irrevocable beneficiary of such a life insurance policy or policies in your Marital Settlement Agreement. Once in a while, Sarasota divorce attorneys require in the Marital Settlement Agreement that the life insurance company be instructed to notify you of any lapse of the life insurance policy. One outside of the box idea that is rarely used is that is you own the policy and make the required premium payments. The latter can be paid out of the alimony you receive, which can be increased to cover the cost of the insurance payments. In Florida, whole life insurance with an actual cash value is considered a marital asset and can be handled as such in divorce settlement negotiations.
If You Have Questions About How Your Health and Life Insurance Policies Will Be Affected by Your Divorce, Then Contact Us for Answers
If you are going through a divorce in Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, or Venice, Florida, then you should know how your health and life insurance policies will be affected. The Law Office of Matthew Z. Martell, P.A. is a divorce law firm near you in Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch, Florida with excellent reviews. You should contact Sarasota divorce attorneys such as Matthew Z. Martell at (941) 556-7020 to get the guidance and representation you need.
