Do noncustodial parents need to supply health insurance?

If you’re a parent who was recently divorced or separated from your partner, your head may still be swimming with a number of questions. If this is your situation, then you’ve come to the right place for answers.

At the McKeon Law Firm, we pride ourselves on taking the questions our frequent blog readers ask and providing answers. If you are new to our blog, you should know that because everyone’s situation is different, we can only provide broad answers to your questions, which is what we’re going to be doing in today’s post with this question:

Do noncustodial parents need to supply health insurance?

As you probably know from your own divorce or separation, noncustodial parents may be ordered by a judge to make child support payments. These payments typically cover a child’s everyday expenses, including things like food, housing, clothing and even school-related costs. But as you can imagine, child support payments cannot cover all of the expenses a child may accrue during the time a court order is in place, such as in the case of health care expenses. This is where things like medical support come into play.

For those who do not know, a noncustodial parent may be required to provide health insurance to their child. In some cases, this happens after a custodial parent petitions the court for a medical support order. If a judge sides with the custodial parent, a medical support order will create an obligation for the noncustodial parent to provide medical and dental insurance coverage to the child.

It’s very important to point out that if a noncustodial parent’s financial situation changes significantly, they may be able to petition the court for a modification. A modification can result in the lowering of a support obligation or terminate it altogether. This legal process can be lengthy and complex though, and may require assistance from a skilled attorney as well.

Source: dhr.state.md.us, “Child Support Q&A,” Accessed March 9, 2016