Getting divorced from a chronically ill spouse is emotionally complicated and adds legal procedures and obligations to consider. Mainly you will have to deal with your spouse’s health insurance and divorce process simultaneously. Even if you and your chronically ill partner are going to part ways, you may still want to guarantee a secure future for them afterward. Plus, you should better predict what financial burden it may bring to you. So check out the top frequent legal considerations when getting your marriage terminated with a chronically ill spouse to bring in comfortable outcomes for both of you.
How to Divorce a Chronically Ill Spouse
Divorcing a chronically ill spouse is an emotional, legal, and physical challenge. The process will be complicated so thorough preparation is necessary to succeed. Here are the main points you may need to pay attention to:
- find a legal counseling specialist who has experience in similar cases so that they guide you properly and help you take the decisions which are beneficial both for you and your partner;
- communicate openly with your partner about your divorce intentions so that they can get ready physically and emotionally and can plan their future accordingly;
- consider the impact on health insurance your divorce decision will have and make the necessary updates so that you chronically ill spouse can get medical aid even after your marriage termination;
- seek emotional support for both you and your partner so that you can go through the divorce process without any serious damage to your mental and physical health.
The procedure may require more preparation and attention from your side so that the aftermath leaves you both satisfied and protected from any negative impact of divorce in general.
What Legal Considerations to Take
If you cooperate with an in-field attorney, they will help you manage the divorce process with a chronically ill spouse accordingly. But you’d better review the legal considerations in similar situations to be ready for different scenarios:
Health Insurance Coverage
You may want or have to provide financial aid for you and/or your spouse through health insurance coverage. This means your chronically ill partner gets doctor visits, hospital stays, prescription medications, and other healthcare services covered under the designated conditions.
Frequently, the chronically ill spouse retrieves insurance from the plan sponsored by the employer of their partner. But when you file for divorce in Florida online, the conditions may change. As a result, your spouse may lose the insurance sponsor and need to search for different variants.
| Legal Considerations | |
| Health Insurance Coverage | Divorce may lead to a loss of health insurance coverage for the ill spouse if they were covered under the other spouse’s plan. |
| COBRA Coverage | The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) allows the ill spouse to continue receiving health insurance coverage for a limited time if they were covered under the other spouse’s employer-based plan. The ill spouse will be responsible for paying the premiums themselves. |
| Medicaid | If the ill spouse has limited income and resources, they may be eligible for Medicaid, a government-funded health insurance program for low-income individuals. |
| Spousal Support | Spousal support payments may be used to pay for the ill spouse’s health insurance premiums. |
| Division of Assets | The division of assets in a divorce settlement may include provisions for the ill spouse to receive additional funds to cover their medical expenses. |
| Health Savings Account | If the couple had a Health Savings Account (HSA), the account will need to be divided as part of the divorce settlement. The ill spouse may be able to use their portion of the HSA funds to pay for their medical expenses. |
COBRA Coverage
In full, Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act means that your spouse may still receive insurance aid after divorce even though it is powered by your employer. The chronically ill partner will still have relevant financial help for up to three years after marriage termination.
Yet, the fact that you are divorced may have a significant impact on the financial conditions of your insurance agreement. For example, if you had to cover a small part of payments for your spouse when you used to be married, after divorce your employer may decrease or refuse to pay their share in your spouse’s insurance at all. This means, that you will have to cover the lacking part of insurance funds from your budget.
Medicaid Eligibility
When it comes to health insurance and divorce, you cannot always guarantee that your soon-to-be ex will have financial support after the divorce. But you can help them qualify for a federal-powered insurance program.
Medicaid is a medical insurance program funded by the state and created to provide medical help to low-income people, including those with chronic diseases. If you qualify for the program, you can expect to have doctor visits, hospitalization, prescription drugs, and long-term care covered within it.
So, during the divorce process, you need to check out whether your spouse is eligible for the Medicaid program and help them organize the papers and apply for it.
Spousal Support
If the chronically ill spouse cannot work and earn their living, it is obvious they will be hardly able to cover health insurance and divorce expenses. This makes it probable that you, as a better-earning spouse, will provide your soon-to-be-ex with alimony. Even if you don’t decide on your own, the judge will oblige you to.
The court will assess the situation and designate the amount and duration of spousal support you will have to cover. Mint that it can be either temporary or permanent support, the latter variant meaning that you will provide financial assistance to your ex to the end of their or your life.
Health Care Proxy
It is an official document that gives the right to the authorized person to make health-related decisions instead of an incapacitated or ill person. It is not only that you need to care whether you can you keep your spouse on health insurance after divorce, but you should also consider who will be a proxy agent for your former spouse unless you will.
Consult an attorney and update the documents. So that when a decision needs to be made on your ex-partner’s health and they cannot handle it on their own, there is a person who acts in the best interests of your spouse. Plus, ensure that a proxy document contains the wishes and priorities of your chronically ill partner on their health and that the appointed person follows the guidelines properly.
Life Insurance
If you care about health insurance and divorce and how long to provide financial support to your chronically ill partner, this is the issue you can have a significant impact on. When you are assigned to support your former spouse with alimony payments and you bother to guarantee a comfortable living for them even after divorce, it is better to predict different scenarios.
For example, if you pass away or cannot afford to cover the payments, your ex will be left without any financial assistance. The better option is to appeal to life insurance so that in case of any accident, your chronically ill spouse can still receive financial support and get their medical needs covered.
Conclusion
When divorcing a chronically ill spouse you may wish and need to care about their wellness after the marriage termination. Update the medical documents, review how you can support your partner financially, and calculate different scenarios so that in any case your spouse receives the necessary help and support. Check out legal considerations and consult your family law attorney so that you can guarantee comfortable conditions for both of you after the divorce.
Phoneia.com (March 20, 2023). Health Insurance and Divorce: Legal Considerations When Divorcing a Chronically Ill Spouse. Recovered from https://phoneia.com/en/health-insurance-and-divorce-legal-considerations-when-divorcing-a-chronically-ill-spouse/