Insurance Coverage After Your Divorce

If you have completed a divorce, you don't need me to tell you that it is among the most trying and difficult times in a person's life. The sacrifices you have made and the changes you are still bound to encounter make life after a divorce in many ways as complex as life during a divorce. So much work has been done, yet so much more is required.

Think back to everything that you had to think about during your divorce: your children, your finances, and your post-divorce life all weighed heavily on you, most likely. Sure, you had an attorney to assist you, and your family was by your side through the process, but in general, these were concerns that you had to consider for yourself.

With all that was on your plate, some items were bound to fall between the cracks. Insurance policies and their effect on your post-divorce world were probably among those items. If you and your ex-spouse shared insurance coverage, it is evident that you and they no longer desire to have that be the case once your divorce has been finalized.

While the policies need to be updated to reflect your current situation, the coverage on your existing policies must not lapse, or you will risk you and your children being uncovered. Today's blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, will discuss how to handle various sorts of insurance once your divorce has been completed.

Coordination is vital when it comes to insurance.

As you found out in your divorce, it is necessary to work with others to accomplish your goals. Handling insurance after a divorce takes the assistance of your ex-spouse and your insurance provider as well.

During the divorce, your attorney likely helped you negotiate the terms of your divorce settlement to maintain insurance coverage for yourself and your children. While this may not have been easy, especially if you and your ex-spouse did not see eye to eye on this subject, it was necessary.

Now that your divorce is complete, your ability to coordinate and communicate with others is going to come in handy. For instance, if your ex-spouse's employer-provided health insurance covers you, it is likely that while your children will still be covered after the divorce, you will not be.

As a result, you will need to go out into the open market and purchase health insurance or enroll in your employer offered health insurance during an open enrollment period. It is possible that because of your divorce, you meet a requirement to enroll in a plan especially, but you would need to verify this.

Homeowner's Insurance

You may have been awarded the family home as yours separate and apart from your spouse in the divorce. This means that your spouse's name should be removed from your homeowner's insurance policy.

You can contact the company through which your homeowner's insurance is provided to have this done. It may also be an excellent time to shop around to purchase homeowner's insurance and see if you can be covered for less of a monthly premium.

On the other hand, your spouse may have been awarded the family home in the divorce, and you now need to look for a place to live after the divorce. If this is the case, I recommend that you look into renter's insurance even if the apartment complex you plan to live in does not require it. If the renter's insurance is held, your personal property can be protected against theft, fire, or other extreme events.

The reason I highly recommend renter's insurance after a divorce is that you can likely not afford to "self-insure" your belongings at this point. If you paid for your divorce with credit cards, then the last thing you would want to do is add to that debt load by purchasing a new coach or television.

What about Life Insurance?

If you have people in your life (children, elderly parents) that depend upon your income, then you need to have life insurance if something happens to you and your income is no longer an option to live off of. If you do not have any children and have nobody in your life that is reliant on your income, you likely need to have a few thousand dollars in the bank if you die. This way, your parents or other family members could afford a basic funeral and burial should you, unfortunately, pass away.

If you already have a life insurance policy in place, you need to review it and change the beneficiaries currently on that policy. Some divorce decrees mandate that you maintain your ex-spouse's name as a beneficiary on your life insurance policy.

If you are ordered to pay child support, this is a functional substitute for your monthly child support payments should you pass away. The money can be invested and grow to mirror whatever contributions should have been made in the form of child support had you not passed away.

Two main types of life insurance are sold in the United States: term and whole life insurance. I'll let you do your research on which style is preferable. But for, full-term life insurance offers more excellent protection at a fraction of the cost of whole life insurance.

Questions about insurance coverage during and after a divorce? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC

If you have questions about insurance and its effect on your life after divorce, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, today. We offer free of charge consultations six days a week. Our attorneys represent clients across southeast Texas, and we would be honored to do the same for you and your family. Give us a call today to schedule a time to come in and talk with us and have your questions answered.

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Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC | Houston, Texas Divorce Lawyers

The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding divorce, it's essential to speak with one of our Houston , TX, Divorce Lawyers right away to protect your rights.

Our d ivorce lawyers in Houston, TX, are skilled at listening to your goals during this trying process and developing a strategy to meet those goals. Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC by calling (281) 810-9760 or submit your contact information in our online form. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, handles Divorce cases in Houston, Texas, Cypress, Klein, Humble, Kingwood, Tomball, The Woodlands, Houston, the FM 1960 area, or surrounding areas, including Harris County, Montgomery County, Liberty County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Brazoria County, Fort Bend County, and Waller County.

Insurance Coverage After Your Divorce