Hi there,

With all the government kerfuffle in the news lately I have been thinking about how government programs and regulations affect family choices. Health insurance and Social Security are two of the ways the choice to remarry, or in some cases marry, are economically affected.

If you are divorced and receiving Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse’s income, you may very well lose those benefits when you remarry. This is a very good post on creators.com as to exactly how Social Security works after remarriage (the piece about divorce is half way down in the article). For many folks, losing that Social Security income would be a real disincentive to remarry. My advice here is to be absolutely sure what will happen with those benefits before you say “I do.”

The next problem lies with the Affordable Care Act, also known as ”ObamaCare.” The concept is admirable, but as with all large concepts, the devil is in the details. I am not indulging in political commentary here, but this presents a potentially huge problem for folks with kids who are looking to remarry. Again, my advice is to do your homework and be absolutely certain of what will happen to your health care before you remarry.

Best,

Nancy