Friday, June 20, 2008

who is responsible for paying health insurance for a child in a divorce




who is responsible for paying health insurance for a child in a divorce?
If the court orders that I pay a certain amount in child support and that both the petitioner and respondent each pay 50% of all unreimbursed medical, dental and orthodontia expenses incurred on behalf of the minor, does that mean that we are both responsible for half of the health and dental insurance?
Marriage & Divorce - 11 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
is it not specified? if not, i would imagine 50-50.
2 :
In my son in laws case both of them have to carry health insurance. In case one of them loses their jobs the children will still be covered.
3 :
Sadly yeah I feel who ever gets child support should pay it but my brother has to pay 1/2 of the insurence on the kids!
4 :
I would think who ever can get it the cheapest. Surely you would want your own child have medical coverage. 50/50 sounds fair if you have 50/50 time with the boy. If not then I think whoever has him and is actually the parent (you can't be a parent when you are with him only four days a month) should pick up the medical tab. After all they are the ones who will be making the medical decisions.
5 :
Both.
6 :
if for example your job offers medical benefits and your estranged spouse has none....your children are covered by your insurance. if she has insurance also, your children are covered by both respectively. anything 'out of pocket' such as prescriptions, deductables, copays are to be split 50/50. if you pay 20.00 for a copay...your ex spouse is responsible to reimburse you 10.00. in these cases, youre agreement should stipulate an amount of time to request that payment. say, 30 days for example. another way would be to tally up the expenses yearly and hand him/her the bill.
7 :
Both parents are oblligated to have health insurance for the child. Unreimbursed medial, dental ...ect. means that if the custodial parent has co-pays for MD visits or braces you both have to pay for it. EX: Md's copay is 20.00 and 10.00 for rx .. you owe the custodial parent 15.00... Braces are 4000.00... you have to pay 2000.00 of that. Child support is for the childs everyday life. Food, Housing, clothes ...ect ...
8 :
Usually, the health insurance continues to be paid by whoever paid for it during the marriage. This is one of those things that is negotiable and it should be spelled out very clearly who is responsible or how it will be divided. Don't leave anything this big to chance. Get it in writing.
9 :
Check your child support worksheet. In Maine, the amount paid for health insurance is factored right into the child support that is paid. Unreimbursed medical expenses would be things on top of the health insurance - such as prescriptions, co-pays, and other things that are not covered by insurance. I would consult a lawyer and go over your divorce judgement with them again - they would be able to give you the clearest answer.
10 :
Yes. that's what it means... Its a bit strange the divorce decree doesn't indicate which parent must actually CARRY the insurance... But, yes. you both pay half of the cost of medical services. Re-read the decree. Make sure it doesn't state one of you must actually carry insurance on the child, & that you're both 50/50 responsible for any amount left over that insurance doesn't pay.
11 :
Not sure what state you are in but in Kansas both parents carry the insurance and each is still responsible for 50/50 of anything not covered by insurance.



Read more discussions :
Posted by Child Health at 1:44 AM