Health care is expensive, and so is the health insurance that pays for it when you need treatment. The costs for insurance depend on your age, your gender and other factors, like the amount of coverage you want or how much of a deductible you accept.
Many adults will have insurance coverage available through their employment. You and your spouse may have both had coverage available, and you may have chosen your policies based on costs or on the amount of coverage available.
When you divorce, that will change your eligibility for health insurance in some cases. Which parent will usually provide health insurance for the children after a divorce?
It is common for the parent with less parenting time to provide insurance
Parents have the option of making their own agreement about the division of parental responsibilities during a divorce. They can also ask the judge to make those decisions if they just can’t compromise with one another.
In either case, it is likely that your custody order will make one parent responsible for providing insurance. Often, the parent who has less parenting time and therefore pays child support will also have the obligation to provide health insurance under the Georgia laws about custody and parental responsibilities.
If something changes regarding your income or the coverage available through their employment, either of you may file a modification request to change how your family handles medical coverage for the children.
Does providing insurance mean making the medical decisions, too?
Sometimes, there is confusion about what providing health insurance coverage for the children means in a shared custody arrangement. Some parents will assume that providing the health insurance means that they also get to make the decisions about what health care their children receive or what physician they visit.
However, the custody order will likely explain legal custody just like it does insurance obligations. Legal custody or decision-making authority is often split or specifically assigned to one parent. Paying for health insurance won’t necessarily grant one parent more legal custody than the other.
Learning more about the rules that govern shared custody and parental responsibilities can help you prepare to split those crucial responsibilities with your ex.