Five Important Insurance Changes After Divorce

The end of marriage changes almost every aspect of your life and the way you handle your insurance is no exception. Before a divorce is finalized, you and your spouse should discuss crucial changes to these forms of insurance. If the two of you are unable to come to an agreement, the courts may need to intervene to ensure a fair decision is made.

Life Insurance

If you or your spouse own life insurance, you’ll need to decide whether you want to keep your spouse as the primary beneficiary. If not, it’s important to call the insurance company and petition to change it as soon as possible.

If you share a joint policy with your spouse, you and your spouse should discuss whether you want to change policy after the divorce. You spouse could either keep the joint policy, transfer ownership of the policy to one spouse, or cancel the policy altogether. Canceling the joint policy may be the easiest solution, allowing both spouses to find an individual policy.

Vehicle Insurance

Like life insurance, you and your spouse have the option of continuing joint auto insurance policies. However, it is important to not cancel joint auto insurance before both parties have alternative coverage. Most insurance companies will not allow you to remove someone from the policy without their consent. Moskowitz Law Group could help you resolve this issue with a marital settlement agreement.

Health Insurance

Many couples rely solely on one spouse’s health insurance plan for coverage, but divorce could end a spouse’s obligation to provide those benefits to you. However, if your spouse has coverage through an employer, you may qualify for a federal program called COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act), which could provide insurance for up to 36-months after your divorce.

Home Insurance

If you and your spouse share a home, contact your insurance company to update the name of the homeowner after property division is finalized. It may be possible to reduce the cost of your policy by changing the “contents” portion of your plan if your spouse has removed many of their belongings.

Disability Insurance

Disability insurance pays a portion of your income if you can’t work because of an injury, illness, or pregnancy. The Social Security Administration discovered that 1-in-4 20-year-olds become disabled before reaching retirement age. In these situations, disability insurance may be essential to have. Although most married couples tend to overlook this, looking into individual disability plans may be necessary.

Contact our experienced divorce attorneys for advice. Our attorneys could guide clients through every step of the divorce process.