With healthcare being such a hot topic, it is important to understand that the largest uninsured group by percentage is those between the ages of 19 and 29. This is the case largely because the group has historically been too old for insurance under parental plans and too young to afford or be eligible for plans of their own. While the Obama healthcare plan does offer extensions for this population, the group will still have millions left uninsured.

Family law attorney Marguerite Royer says in a recent article that because of this consideration, express agreements should be made between parents during divorce to ensure young adults maintain their insurance coverage. It cannot be left to the dictate of the courts because courts can only direct a parent to maintain care until the age of 21. After the age of 21 it generally falls on the custodial parent or the young adult to pay for care, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parents. 

Marguerite Royer is a family law attorney at Moses & Singer and she discusses more about the new healthcare law and its connection to parental agreements and divorce cases in her article “Healthy New York: Extending Health insurance Coverage to Young Adults in Divorce Settlement Agreements.” Ms. Royer is also a Lawline.com faculty member, and her newest course “Why Would an Attorney Want to Practice Collaborative Law” focuses on the benefits of innovative dispute resolution techniques. 

Read Marguerite Royer's article

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