Child Support - Denver,CO

i understand somewhere in the stipulation health insurance has to be covered.. either the non-custodial parent pays for and holds the coverage OR child support is increased depending how much the custodial parent is paying for coverage. good luck!! child support/court issues are the worst!!

http://www.helpyourselfdivorce.com/colorado-child-support...

Says either parent can be ordered to provide insurance. What does your custody or divorce decree say?

When my child support agreement was completed it stated that my son's father had to provide health insurance, either through his work's policy or by reimbursing me for the cost to add our son to my policy. So, my son has been on his father's insurance. Last year, his work changed carriers and increased the portion he would have to pay for dependent insurance. The new insurance was just not as good as what he had, so he purchased an individual insurance plan for my son. Which turns out to be a great idea - my son will be able to carry this policy for years.

Health insurance is usually covered, one way or the other, through the child support agreement. Also, ask about who covers the out of pocket expenses - my agreement has us split them. I send him the receipts and he is supposed to send me back a check for half. This includes co-payments, prescriptions,and over the counter medicine specifically for my son.

Talk with your attorney about available options and which one would be best for your child(ren).

Good Luck
God Bless

Hi Queen,

This website for Colorado (I assume that's where your custody decree is - that's where it says you are from???) states that both parents share insurance and medical costs.

https://childsupport.state.co.us/siteuser/do/vfs/Frag?fil...

It says this:
A basic support obligation is determined using the monthly gross incomes of both parents and information about what intact families spend on their children. The parents share the basic support obligation based upon their gross incomes. The noncustodial parent's share of the obligation establishes the amount of the child support order. The amount of child support a parent pays can also be affected by the amount of parenting time (visitation) with the child. The parents also share the costs for childcare, medical insurance and uninsured medical expenses.

Additionally if you go to the actual instructions to calculate support it says this on page 5:
http://www.courts.state.co.us/Forms/PDF/jdf1822%20instruc...

(E) Health Insurance
Amounts paid by parties or by a parties’ spouse for health insurance premiums which cover the child(ren)
subject to the order are apportioned between the parties. The amount included in the child support calculation is
the amount of the health insurance premium actually attributable to the child(ren) subject to the order. If this
amount is not available or cannot be verified, the total cost of the premium is divided by the total number of
persons covered by the policy and then multiplied by the number of children covered by the policy who are
subject to the order. This result is entered on Line 6c on Worksheet A or Line 10c on Worksheet B. A space to
assist in this calculation is provided on page 2 of each worksheet.
Health insurance includes medical, or medical and dental insurance carried by either parent or by the parties’
spouse. The parent requesting an adjustment for health insurance premium costs must submit proof that the
child(ren) is enrolled in an insurance plan and proof of the cost of the premium.

There are a TON of resources at that website. It should be able to clear up any questions you have. Or you can talk to your lawyer.

No, Colorado says that whoever had the ability to cover the child has to cover them. If the custodial parent had insurance through the employer, they would pay for it and the non custodial parent would pay more in child support to them. If the non custodial parent pays for insurance, it doesn't take much off what is calculated. If neither parent has the option, the child would be enrolled in Medicaid or CHP+. It is similar with child care costs figured. Since you're in Denver, you should go to the human services building on 12th and Federal for their free family law workshop. Its once a month, I can't remember if its the 2nd or 3rd Tuesday of the month. But a family law lawyer goes through the steps of filing and what to expect, then does a Q&A session at the end.

If I recall correctly, it is often based upon who has the coverage available to them (not everyone does, at least not through a group plan). Whichever parent (it was almost always the absent parent in the cases I dealt with, but I don't think that was the reason for it, it just worked out that the absent parent- often the dad- had the coverage more readily available- many were in the military) has the coverage in place through their employment (which also deducts the costs directly from the paycheck) is required to carry the coverage. Then, when they calculate the guideline numbers for the child support, they deducted the cost of the insurance from the income --- like a tax deduction.
But, that has been a few years ago that I had any working knowledge of it, and it varies from state to state as well, I'm sure. This was in Florida in the 1990's. If you already have a court order in place, then I would refer back to that specifically for any language addressing the health insurance benefits for the child(ren).

In MA, whatever parent has access to the lowest-cost coverage through his or her employer secures the insurance, then the cost is split between the parents and the support order is either reduced or increased accordingly. At least in theory. My husband's child support order simply stipulated that he pay $X amount per week and provide insurance. In my case, a minimum order was set for the absent non-custodial parent, then the court considered the cost of my son's insurance (the difference between a single policy for me and two-person policy for both of us), split that in half and added that to the minimum order.

I know in MO and TX, the non-custodial parent is supposed to pay for the health insurance. I'm currently in the process of setting up child support and I want my son to stay on my health insurance. His dad is being ordered to pay at least my son's portion of the premium for me to add him on. Really they would order for him to put him on his health insurance, but he does not have good insurance, I have the better one, and mine is cheaper.

I don't know, and I don't have any experience with child support YET, but in my divorce paperwork, it says that my husband has to keep insurance for the kids. But maybe that doesn't apply to you?