I carry my wife on my health care insurance, but she is able to secure health care through her company. Open enrollment begins in September. Divorce will be final in late March. May I remove her from my insurance at open enrollment, advise her that I can no longer carry her and advise her to secure health care insurance from her company (no waiting period or pre-exisiting conditions). I will continue to carry the children on mine, of course. Is this advisable or something I can do?
You may remove her from your insurance unless you are obligated to provide her with coverage pursuant to an agreement. Your company may require proof that she has obtained her own coverage before allowing you to drop her. You will also want to ensure she has secured coverage to avoid potential liability if she encounters health problems. So long as you are still married you could be held liable for her uncovered medical expenses under a doctrine of the law which allows liability to be assigned to the spouse for necessaries.