Obtaining or Terminating Benefits After a Teaneck Divorce
Married couples often depend on each other for certain benefits like health insurance, income from pensions, income for other retirement plans, and Social Security benefits. Divorce can have an impact on these benefits.
It is critical to consider these issues when divorcing and ensure you are protected going forward. Consult Moskowitz Law Group about the effect a Teaneck divorce can have on benefits. Our divorce attorneys can review your and your spouse’s benefits, explain the law, and help you address these concerns proactively and effectively.
Preserving Health Insurance Coverage is Essential
When one spouse provides health insurance coverage to the family through their employment, a divorce will require the family to make changes. Most employer-sponsored health care plans do not allow former spouses to receive benefits, except through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), which is expensive and only available for a maximum of 18 months.
An employed spouse covered by the other spouse could switch their health coverage to their own employer’s plan if their employer offers this benefit. When that is not an option, a skilled Teaneck attorney can negotiate additional financial support to cover the cost of obtaining an individual health benefit plan through other means, such as COBRA or the Affordable Care Act.
The Court must also account for health insurance for children when determining financial support for children. Parents can continue to provide health insurance for their children, regardless of whether they have been granted custody or substantial parenting time. If a parent does not willingly provide support for a child despite having the ability to do so, an attorney can request that the Court issue a Qualified Medical Child Support Order, which compels a parent’s health insurer to provide coverage to the subscriber’s child.
Preserving Financial Security in Retirement
Couples usually save for retirement together, assuming both will benefit from the pension or retirement savings of either spouse. When a couple divorces, their retirement funds and pensions are part of the marital property that must be divided. Determining each spouse’s portion of these assets is usually a topic for negotiation and can require an expert to assess the value of these assets if either spouse began participating in a retirement plan before the marriage.
When the couple reaches an agreement on dividing a retirement asset, a Teaneck attorney must prepare a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) for the Court to issue as part of the final judgment of divorce. This document instructs the administrator of a retirement plan to pay the plan participant’s spouse a portion of the monthly benefit or value of the plan directly and contains instructions on how and when the benefit or value should be distributed between the parties.
Social Security retirement benefits are payable to the spouse who worked to earn them. That spouse’s Social Security retirement benefits will not be affected. However, older spouses who have been dependent on the greater earnings of the other spouse who were married at least ten years may be entitled to collect Social Security retirement benefits based on their spouse’s higher earnings record. Importantly, if the dependent spouse remarries someday, this will no longer be an option for them. Remarriage will disentitled the dependent spouse to do so. It is important to address these issues with an experienced legal professional because Social Security regulations are complex.
Terminating Benefits
Most post-divorce obligations have a timeline. For example, alimony almost always has a set time limit, except in certain cases where the couple has been married 20 years or longer. When it is anticipated that health insurance premiums will be paid through alimony, the recipient spouse must be prepared to assume financial responsibility for their health insurance premiums when the alimony obligation ends. Alimony will also terminate if the former spouse receiving it remarries or cohabitates with a romantic partner. Cohabitation is a complex and fact-sensitive legal concept that is not straightforward. It is best to have an attorney explain the concept of cohabitation to a former spouse receiving alimony so they do not endanger their alimony payments. An alimony obligation ends when a former spouse receiving alimony remarries.
The obligation to pay child support and provide health insurance for a child ends when a child is emancipated. Child emancipation is also a complex and fact-sensitive legal concept that is best explained by an attorney so the former spouse receiving child support knows what to expect in the future.
Many judgments of divorce and settlement agreements require the spouse paying alimony or financial support for a child to obtain a life insurance policy naming their former spouse or child as a beneficiary. This policy ensures a spouse will receive alimony and child support even if the paying spouse dies before the obligation is terminated. A Moskowitz Law Group divorce attorney in Teaneck could negotiate such an agreement in an appropriate case.
Work with a Teaneck Attorney to Protect Benefits in a Divorce
A divorce can disrupt a spouse’s basic financial safety net. Health insurance and retirement savings are critical to enable a spouse to move forward with confidence after a divorce. Conversely, a paying spouse would be eager to be relieved of these obligations as soon as possible.
Speak with an attorney at Moskowitz Law Group about obtaining or terminating benefits after a Teaneck divorce. We will explain the applicable law and negotiate an agreement that meets your goals.
