In 2008, a new statute was passed in New York State that required that language pertaining to health insurance coverage and a spouse’s ability to obtain COBRA coverage be contained in all Separation Agreements.  That statute, Domestic Relations Law §177, has since been repealed and Domestic Relations Law §255 was passed in its stead, effective October 1, 2009. 

The new DRL §255 provides that, prior to signing a judgment of divorce or separation, the Court must ensure that both parties have been notified that eligibility to be covered under a spouse’s health insurance plan may terminate.  Notice is sufficient if a party has received service of a Summons with Notice stating that once the Judgment is signed by the judge, heath coverage may be terminated.  

If the parties have entered into a settlement agreement, the agreement must contain a provision that the spouse will be provided with health coverage under the other spouse’s policy or the agreement must state that each party is aware that he or she will no longer be covered by the other party’s health insurance plan and that each party shall  be responsible for his or her own heath coverage, and may be entitled to insurance through a COBRA option.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 8:00 am and is filed under Divorce News, Spousal Maintenance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.