Legal Question in Family Law in Rhode Island

If the Final Judgment of Divorce states that your ex-spouse will continue to be on your health insurance pursuant to the Rhode Island Insurance Continuation act. Then if your ex spouse received full coverage then you need to notify your insurance carrier that the spouse has coverage so he or she may be removed from your coverage "by the carrier." Note that you should not have to do anything for the removal.

The Rhode Island Insurance Continuation Act applies to the insurance carrier and not specifically to you though it is often worded incorrectly in Final Judgments and decisions of the court by attorneys. The insurance carrier should be given notice and then the carrier should remove your ex-spouse automatically.

If your ex-spouse then loses coverage after that, as long as the wording of your Final Judgment or any Marital Settlement Agreement you may have signed doesn't provide that you must provide health insurance permanently or for a certain amount of time regardless of the Health Insurance Continuation Act, then if they lose their coverage you have not violated the law or the agreements by notifying your carrier so the ex-spouse may be removed.

The Rhode Island Health Insurance Continuation Act does not require you or the insurance carrier to put the ex-spouse back on your insurance if the ex-spouse later no longer meets the criteria for removal.

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