ohio probate/guardianship OR domestic relations question?

Question

My brother and his ex-wife share legal custody of their two children. My brother has sole physical custody, and she gets them on weekends. My brother is on disability and, as such, the kids are on Medicaid. Their mom refuses to work, pay child support, or carry them on "real" insurance. My problem is, both kids are in need of extensive orthodontic treatment and, as of right now, I am paying for everything out of pocket and both parents have refused to help. I'd like to be able to carry them on my insurance so that at least some of the cost would be covered, but I DON'T want custody of the kids. Is there a way to either get a limited guardianship JUST for insurance purposes, or to get a court order stating I am responsible for insurance coverage? Please, no lectures about how this is not my responsibility and what a loser my brother and his ex are. All I'm interested in is finding out whether or not I can get them on my insurance, either through probate or domestic relations. Thanks..

David-- Thanks for the good info. I have checked my policy, which is how I found out that I could carry them if I had a court order. So, I guess I was wondering if the court would really give me such an order, in a situation like this? Their mom is being threatened with jail time for not paying support, and she's already had her license revoked. I thought maybe the court would try to force her to carry it if they found out the kids really need good insurance, but I'd rather do it myself.

Susie-- thank you, as well. I found out that the insurance would cover about 2000 on kids' orthodontics, which would be nice. It's going to cost me about 12K out of pocket for both of them.

We'll see what happens! Thanks again..

Answer 1

I think you're looking in the wrong direction, or at least not starting at the real beginning. What does your insurance carrier require for you to cover them? This situation has arisen for me before at work, and before I know what legal steps my clients must take, I need to know what the insurance company requires. The legal steps usually turn out to be relatively easy--like a Power of Attorney or a Limited Guardianship. Check your medical insurance policy or ask your personnel department at work.

Answer 2

Check with your HR department and your insurance company to see what the qualifications for a dependent are, this will tell you where to start.

Unfortuneately, most dental insurances consider orthodontic work "cosmetic" and covers very little if any of the cost.