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My daughter has been physically separated from her husband since Aug 2012. She has filed for a divorce and is in the process of restarting mediation. My daughter and her husband currently reside in California. My daughter has herself and child medical expenses covered through her new job. But, she no longer has her husband on her medical plan as of last week. He was informed of the date well in advance that in May (that just passed) he would no longer be covered by her work medical policy. He has not secured his own medical insurance and therefore now has no medical insurance.
My questions. Note-in California.
1) If he has medical expenses is my daughter responsible for any of those expenses?
2) Is this pretty clear, or is it unclear legally? I think the legal date of separation was Aug 28, 2012.
3) If she is in any way responsible for any part of such expenses, is there something she can do to protect herself from his future medical expenses? No expenses have been incurred at this time. May 25, 2013.
Generally, in California, a spouse’s health insurance benefits are terminated as of the date of the dissolution of marriage. Upon the dissolution, the husband could obtain COBRA coverage from your daughter’s employer for a designated period of time in which he would have to pay the out-of-pocket expenses.
Further, standard orders that are issued by the California Superior Court prevent the removal of a spouse from a health care insurance policy without their permission, or a court order. If he did not agree to be removed from the policy, or if your daughter did not obtain a court order, then he can challenge the removal in court against your daughter. Because of this, she may be on the hook for some of his medical expenses.
She should consult with her attorney to figure out her options regarding the legal removal of her husband from her insurance policy prior to their dissolution of marriage.
