When couples are getting divorced, a lot of things need to be discussed and taken care of. One thing that soon to be former spouses in West Virginia wonder is if they should remove their soon-to-be-former spouse from the insurance during or after the filing of the petition for a divorce. This is actually a huge question once open enrollment is coming up and especially if they have kids together. With regards to the spouse, the answer usually is to go ahead and include them on the insurance.
One of the reasons people often leave ex on health insurance is just the practical side of this as to how this is going to appear in court. If one has a lawyer or if going into the court by yourself to explain why the person has been removed from the insurance, it’s going to not look good whatsoever for them. It’s often suggested not doing this whether representing yourself or even if an attorney is representing you. The reason is because that leaves one also explaining why they removed the ex from their insurance.
Now, most of the time the plans will not allow one to remove the ex anyways, but some plans may allow that under specific plans. The bottom line is that one most likely may not want to remove their soon-to-be-former spouse from your insurance, especially if the ex is dependent upon the health insurance. Often, it’s suggested to re-enroll the ex if going through a divorce and it is open enrollment time. It’s going to be a little bit more, but does allow one to appear in court in a more positive light.
The other positive side to keeping the ex on your health insurance is that any event that spouse’s support might be an issue, it could be such that if you remove them from the insurance, you could actually be paying out of pocket. For example, there’s a huge income disparity between soon-to-be-former spouses and have been married a long time and he or she has a case to make for spousal support. If that’s the case and they’re removed from the insurance, it’s actually going to increase their need. Keeping them on the insurance plan can cause one to avoid paying out of pocket healthcare insurance. Insurance is extremely expensive.
The monthly premium with health insurance is often much more affordable through an employer vs. private so that is one solution to the higher costs. If people are going through a divorce and have children together, it’s often suggested to keep your children on the insurance plan as well. What the court expects and the law in West Virginia states is that if you have children and access to affordable health insurance, one is required to include them on the health insurance plan.
