SENATE, No. 1416

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED JULY 25, 1996

By Senator MATHEUSSEN

An Act concerning divorce and supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. a. Upon filing of a complaint for an action for divorce, nullity or separate maintenance, where the custody, visitation or support of a minor child is an issue, the party who has maintained all existing insurance coverage or coverage traditionally maintained during the marriage, including but not limited to, all health, disability, home or life insurance, shall continue to maintain or continue to share in the cost of maintaining the coverage.

    b. If a party who has maintained the existing insurance coverage or has shared in the cost of maintaining the coverage has had a voluntarily or involuntarily change in employment status, which may cause the existing insurance coverage to terminate, then that party shall notify the other party that it may be necessary to reallocate the financial responsibilities of maintaining the coverage.

    c. Upon receipt of this notice, the party may petition the court to reallocate financial responsibilities.

    d. The court may take any action it deems appropriate to reallocate financial responsibilities including but not limited to ordering a party to obtain comparable coverage or releasing a party from the obligation or any other order.

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill would require the parties in a divorce action to continue to maintain or continue to share in the cost of maintaining all existing insurance coverage as of the date of the filing of the action and until the judgement is entered or it is otherwise agreed to by the parties.

    The bill would also require the party who has maintained the coverage to notify the other party when there is a change in that party's employment status which would make insurance coverage unavailable. Nothing in this bill would diminish the authority of the court to make appropriate changes concerning the coverage.

    This bill embodies recommendation number 4 of the report of the Commission to Study the Law of Divorce, issued April 18, 1995.

Requires parties in a divorce action to maintain certain insurance coverages.