Health Insurance in Divorce: Legal Separation v. Legally Separated
One of the biggest financial hits that can come with divorce is the cost of health insurance for an unemployed spouse. Typically, the unemployed or part-time employed spouse is covered under the health insurance plan offered by the other spouse’s job.
In my practice, I typically see premiums for private policies (policies not provided through an employer) between $500 and $800 per month depending on the plan. This cost can vary greatly and can be reduced to almost nothing if certain government subsidies are triggered by the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”).
But, in most cases, a family is looking at a substantial additional expense to cover a spouse with no employer-sponsored health insurance.
So, it typically makes sense for a spouse to stay on the other spouse’s employer-sponsored health insurance for as long as possible to save money.
The question then, is how long can one spouse stay on the other’s health insurance? The answer in North Carolina in the vast majority of cases is until the date of divorce.
There may be language in documentation from Human Resources or in the benefits package documentation that mentions “legal separation”. This language sometimes requires the employee to report a “legal separation” to HR so that benefit eligibility for the spouse can be re-evaluated.
This is where the difference between “legal separation” and “legally separated” comes in. A “legal separation” is a specific legal order by a court that is offered in some states, but not North Carolina. The closest thing North Carolina has to a “legal separation” is called “Divorce from Bed and Board”, or a “DBB”. A DBB has to be obtained from a court in North Carolina. You have to put a lot of time, effort, and legal fees into a DBB. So you will know if you have a DBB.
In North Carolina, “legally separated” is much different than a “legal separation” in some other states. “Legally Separated” in North Carolina means that you are living under separate roofs with the intent for that separation to remain permanent (i.e. not a limited “trial separation”). Being “legally separated” in North Carolina is not a “legal separation” as that term is used in other states. “Legally separated” in this state means essentially that the one-year waiting period for divorce has begun and that some financial issues related to divorce have kicked in (there are other legal impacts of being legally separated, ask a lawyer for a full explanation).
So, if you are separating, or legally separated in North Carolina, you typically do not need to report that separation to an employer-sponsored health plan. And, both spouses can remain on the employer policy until the actual date of the divorce.
That being said, every situation is different, so contact an attorney to determine whether and how being legally separated impacts you or your spouse’s eligibility for employer-sponsored health insurance.