Getting a Divorce or Annulment

Event:

Qualifying Life Event?

Getting a Divorce or an Annulment

Yes.

The sponsor and eligible children have 90 days after a divorce or annulment to change your TRICARE health plan.

Are you getting a divorce or an annulment? The sponsor must update the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) with a certified copy of the divorce or annulment decree as soon as possible.

Eligibility for TRICARE:

  • Won't change for the sponsor
  • Won't change for biological children and adopted children

We won't pay for services or supplies provided to anyone who isn't eligible for TRICARE. If a former spouse loses eligibility in a divorce and continues to get care, TRICARE can recoup those payments. >>Learn More about Recoupment of Overpayments

Former Spouses

Former spouse's benefits will end at 12:01 a.m. on the day of the divorce or annulment, unless he or she meet certain requirements.

If these requirements are met, former spouses:

  • Remain eligible for TRICARE
  • Will use their own name and health benefit number to get care and file claims
  • They won't use your name and number in DEERS

Remarrying

What happens if I get remarried?

  • If you're eligible for TRICARE after your divorce, you will lose eligibility for TRICARE if you remarry.
  • You will be eligible for TRICARE again if you marry another active duty or retired service member.

Children

  • A sponsor’s biological and adopted children stay eligible for TRICARE until they age out. >> Learn More
  • To be TRICARE eligible, your child must be a dependent.  This means they aren’t married or serving on active duty.
  • After your child ages out, they can choose to purchase TRICARE Young Adult until they turn 26.
  • A sponsor’s stepchildren who weren’t adopted by the sponsor will lose TRICARE eligibility.

What if my child doesn’t live with me?

  • Children living separate from the sponsor (with the former spouse or other guardian) can enroll in TRICARE Prime using the split enrollment feature.

Loss of Eligibility

When you lose TRICARE, you may:

Using TRICARE with Other Health InsuranceHealth insurance you have in addition to TRICARE, such as Medicare or an employer-sponsored health insurance. TRICARE supplements don’t qualify as "other health insurance."

TRICARE is always the second payer to any other health insurance (OHI) plan. After a divorce or annulment, if your child has health insurance from the non-uniformed service parent, then TRICARE can still act as a second payer. If your child visits the uniformed service member, TRICARE is still the second payer, so make sure your child has the OHI information to get care away from home. >>View Custody Scenarios

Review your OHI and TRICARE options carefully, to make sure you have the best coverage for your child. >>Learn More about using TRICARE with OHI

 

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TRICARE QLE Knowledge Plan: Getting Divorced, Former Spouses
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Last Updated 9/11/2023