Legal Question in Family Law in California
Going through a divorce in California. I am the Petitioner and my wife is the respondent. Papers are filed. How long do I keep her on my medical insurance?
3 Answers from Attorneys
I recommend that you consult with a family law attorney before taking any action of this type. When the divorce is filed, both parties agree to keep things as they are "status quo" so to speak until such issues as support, including medical support and debts and dispositions of marital property can be resolved. If this is key for you, you may want to work out a resolution of this issue fairly early in the settlement process. Good luck with this.
By filing the summons, you became bound by the automatic injunctions on the summons form; she became or will become bound by them the moment she was/is validly served with the petition and summons. You should read those injunctions. They answer your question. For the benefit of others who may read this Q&A on the site, however: the answer is that you are prohibited from changing or cancelling any insurance coverage of any kind until further order of the court, period. So you keep her on until you ask the court for permission to remove her, or until you have a judgement of divorce, at which point the summons and injunctions are replaced by the judgment itself and whatever it provides.
"Until the court orders otherwise" is the short answer to your question.