obamacare marital separation

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With Obamacare and my employer being forced to shed healthcare costs, our costs are going through the roof. my wife has no income and I was wondering if there were any options to a civil separation so we could divide the income. EG, could she go on disability, welfare, obamacare while I continue to work with my income insulated from her. Are there any resources on how to approach this and calculate the potential savings/income. If we do anything I want to be sure to do it by the book.
All you have to do is file married separately and you won’t have to buy health insurance for her. You can only go onto disability if you are disabled. If you think it is easy to go on disability 2/3 of all applicants are turned down for disability.
 
BEL said:

“Speaking of kids, how will you explain this to them? “Mommy and daddy got a legal divorce and we have to represent ourselves and divorced even though we aren’t so that we can get money from the government to buy luxury items that we don’t need”. I try not to judge other’s parenting, but that is so far over the line of acceptable.”

Right.
 
“Mommy and daddy got a legal divorce and we have to represent ourselves and divorced even though we aren’t so that we can get money from the government to buy luxury items that we don’t need”. I try not to judge other’s parenting, but that is so far over the line of acceptable. That’s how you end up raising Bernie Madoff.

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I am so sick of people vilifying any one that works hard and actually wants some luxury in their life. It is exactly this mindset that has lead to the vast amounts of parasites and leeches that feel they have some sort of right to a portion of what I earn.

Like I said before, there are those who need help. I wholeheartedly support helping them. Then there are those who just don’t want to put in any time and effort and go thru any kind of discomfort to help themselves.

People who work hard and want their family to reap the benefits of their labor are not selfish and we are not all Bernie Madoff’s. That is a ridiculous conclusion.
 
I am so sick of people vilifying any one that works hard and actually wants some luxury in their life. It is exactly this mindset that has lead to the vast amounts of parasites and leeches that feel they have some sort of right to a portion of what I earn.

Like I said before, there are those who need help. I wholeheartedly support helping them. Then there are those who just don’t want to put in any time and effort and go thru any kind of discomfort to help themselves.

People who work hard and want their family to reap the benefits of their labor are not selfish and we are not all Bernie Madoff’s. That is a ridiculous conclusion.
I’m just going to point this out, but BEL didn’t make any sweeping generalization about people who work hard to give their family a good life.

Here’s the thing, if you support helping those who legitimately need the help then you shouldn’t work towards (or accept it as ok to work towards) the destruction of the system which is currently set up to help those seriously in need by trying to find a way to get the money that is meant for those who are seriously in need of it. So work hard for your family, do what you can legally to help them, but don’t just try and twist the letter of the law to squeeze out every last penny you can without regard to the consequences. Follow the spirit of the law, not just the letter. Welfare exists to help those who are truly in need. It is wrong to abuse it and try to find loopholes in technicalities in the letter of the law so that you can get around the spirit of the law to benefit from it. That is what BEL and others on this thread have spoken out against, not working hard to make a good living for your self and your family.
 
No.

The Church does not depend on the state’s judgment of who is married and who isn’t. The Church does comply with state laws because they’re laws. But, as with priests saying Mass in Ireland when my great grandparents lived there, the Church does not abandon sacraments just because the state might forbid them.
But my argument is that the Church teaches divorce is wrong and should be avoided at all costs. If the OP divorces, I think we all agree the Church still would see him as married. However, I don’t think the Church would want people to divorce for financial reasons either. Needless to say, it would cause scandal.
 
I got married in summer, but my husband changed his filing status at the beginning of the year so that we would get more money each paycheck instead of getting a large tax refund in spring. When he changed his filing status he started getting just over $400 more every month. Marriage is significant. Kids are significant. .
Yep, that would all have to go into the calculation.
Speaking of kids, how will you explain this to them? “Mommy and daddy got a legal divorce and we have to represent ourselves and divorced even though we aren’t so that we can get money from the government to buy luxury items that we don’t need”. I try not to judge other’s parenting, but that is so far over the line of acceptable. That’s how you end up raising Bernie Madoff.
HMMM. do you say that about the other ~47% of Americans who admit being on the public dole?
And scandal? If I knew someone was catholic and I saw that they did this, well let’s just say that they would lose a lot of credibility with me (and everyone that I told about this, and I would talk) when they started talking about promoting “traditional family values”. In fact, I’m not sure I could actually hear you say the word “values” without rolling on the floor laughing with tears in my eyes.
Gossip is also frowned upon by the church.
 
How much money does it take exactly for you to deny your wife? Because that’s exactly what you’re doing. You made vows to each other, and in my vows at least we promised “for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer”, and we meant it. But you want to tell the government, the courts, and everyone you encounter while you try to carry this out that your wife is not your wife, that she is not your best friend, that she is not walking through life with you, that you have no commitment to her. How sad that money would motivate you not only to lie, but to deny your spouse.

I guess I’m not understanding, does he want his wife to go on disability? That’s not what that’s for. Disability is to protect families when they lose a breadwinner due to health problems. His wife is not a breadwinner, and they’ve never needed her to have income. So now that she can’t work he wants her to be treated by the government as though she has been working all along and needs to in order to survive.

My mom just got approved for disability after 4 years of struggle. Lawyers, medical evaluations, court dates, affidavits, the whole nine yards. It isn’t easy, and it isn’t easily abused.
 
But my argument is that the Church teaches divorce is wrong and should be avoided at all costs. If the OP divorces, I think we all agree the Church still would see him as married. However, I don’t think the Church would want people to divorce for financial reasons either. Needless to say, it would cause scandal.
The scandal is trying to equate the government definition of marriage with Gods when they are two separate entities with two separate meanings.
 
Yep, that would all have to go into the calculation.

HMMM. do you say that about the other ~47% of Americans who admit being on the public dole?
Gossip is also frowned upon by the church.
The number is no where near 47%. The vast majority of people on public support have a demonstrable need for it. Most support programs have work requirements (like SNAP), and the ones that don’t (like unemployment) have requirements that you be actively looking for work.

You have no need for it. You want to buy a vacation home. If you want it that much, why not just have your wife get a job? Even a part time job would net you more money than this immoral idea.

Oh, and it isn’t gossip if you divorce for financial gain and people find out and tell each other about it.
 
How much money does it take exactly for you to deny your wife? Because that’s exactly what you’re doing. You made vows to each other, and in my vows at least we promised “for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer”, and we meant it. But you want to tell the government, the courts, and everyone you encounter while you try to carry this out that your wife is not your wife, that she is not your best friend, that she is not walking through life with you, that you have no commitment to her. How sad that money would motivate you not only to lie, but to deny your spouse…
Not everyone and not separate the true moral aspects, just alter the arrangement to an informal one that does not infringe upon her access to government benefits.
I guess I’m not understanding, does he want his wife to go on disability? That’s not what that’s for. Disability is to protect families when they lose a breadwinner due to health problems. His wife is not a breadwinner, and they’ve never needed her to have income. So now that she can’t work he wants her to be treated by the government as though she has been working all along and needs to in order to survive.

My mom just got approved for disability after 4 years of struggle. Lawyers, medical evaluations, court dates, affidavits, the whole nine yards. It isn’t easy, and it isn’t easily abused.
She is legitimately disabled and had to quit work because of it. unfortunately the only reason she can not collect disability is because she is married to me. It may be hard, but it is worth a shot.
 
The number is no where near 47%. The vast majority of people on public support have a demonstrable need for it. Most support programs have work requirements (like SNAP), and the ones that don’t (like unemployment) have requirements that you be actively looking for work.

You have no need for it. You want to buy a vacation home. If you want it that much, why not just have your wife get a job? Even a part time job would net you more money than this immoral idea.

Oh, and it isn’t gossip if you divorce for financial gain and people find out and tell each other about it.
your right it was higher: cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/census-49-americans-get-gov-t-benefits-82m-households-medicaid

Please stop lying, I do not want to buy a vacation home! I never said it.

Yes it is gossip.
 
No your friend is cheating.

He is living with someone and not telling the state. This is the illegal loophole many use to cheat the system. It is hard for the state to enforce but they are lying about their circumstances.
Conversely has a point. Jesus said to “render unto Ceasar the things which are Ceasars…” he never said that one had to render more than Ceasar required. In the above case, the man is following the law–only he is following it to the VERY letter–and not one step more. The government made the law regarding divorces and the law this man is following. It also has made the laws concerning income tax deductions that I doubt any of us would say that we don’t claim any and all of that we can within the law. So, I don’t know. I don’t think i’m going to personally be so quick to judge the Me
Mexican american man. Maybe he’d doing about thee same as the rest of us–following thee law to the “t”.
 
Not everyone and not separate the true moral aspects, just alter the arrangement to an informal one that does not infringe upon her access to government benefits.

She is legitimately disabled and had to quit work because of it. unfortunately the only reason she can not collect disability is because she is married to me. It may be hard, but it is worth a shot.
Look, either you’re all in when it comes to marriage or you aren’t. I am. There is no circumstance, except perhaps to save his life, that I would deny my husband to anyone. He deserves better and our bond is worth more than that. And I certainly wouldn’t do it for money. If you are willing to tell people that your wife is not your wife, you might want to take a hard look at your marriage.

I’m also getting very skeptical of this disability claim. First it was that you indiscriminately wanted “welfare benefits”, now you specifically want disability. You have no way of knowing that marriage is the only thing keeping her off disability. She would have to be evaluated by several independent doctors, present a case in court, probably higher a lawyer, and in all likelihood be turned down and appeal it several times first. The average person has to apply several times and it can take years. Furthermore, and I don’t know all of the specific procedures on this, but it looks like disability isn’t affected much by marriage anyway.
 
Please stop lying, I do not want to buy a vacation home! I never said it.
We were looking at a vacation/retirement property that could qualify as one residence if it was required. as for living apart, I barely see them anyway since I spend so many hours working.
You are the one who brought up that you are looking at a property to be a vacation/retirement home. Yes, a bunch of people misunderstood you, but saying that you want a vacation home is hardly a lie. You have admitted multiple times that you are thinking about getting a second property and have even admitted to thinking of this property as a vacation home. You have actually said this.
 
I’m sure the person who posted this is tired of all the negative comments, but he does have an interesting point.

I am actually for Obamacare, but I do realize that it is brand new, and there are parts of it that will need fixing. Fortunately, I do not have to worry about it because my husband and I are both old enough for Medicare. I really like Medicare, and I really thought it was stupid that I had to wait 65 years to be on a health insurance plan that no one could cancel.

When they were working on the new health insurance law, I was thinking, "Why on earth don’t they give younger people some kind of an option to buy into Medicare? The system is already there, and it works very well. There really are no age restrictions in the Medicare system, since younger people who go on disability can get into it.

Well, I think Obamacare is really a very Republican type of system. It resembles Romneycare. It also resembles the Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) put in by George Bush. Medicare Advantage was supposed to save the government money by having competition between different insurance companies. It turns out that the original Part B Medicare plan is costing the government a lot less money than George Bush’s Medicare Advantage plans.

In the Medicare Advantage plans there are lots of different plans for lots of different prices, but everyone pays the same price. It doesn’t matter if you are 65 or 85.

I think it really probably isn’t fair if a single person making $30,000 could get a lot of help with Obamacare, but a married couple making $60,000 couldn’t get much help at all. This is one of the flaws that they will eventually have to fix.

Come to think of it, for years as a married couple, we had to pay the “marriage tax.” Two single people living together would have paid a lot less. I think they have fixed this (at least partially), but it really is not fair.

This makes me wonder why on earth gay people want to get married. It does seem that in some ways you would be better off financially to stay single and shack up with someone, which is actually what a lot of people are doing. Now that married gay people are assured federal benefits, one of those benefits is going to be the privilege of paying more for things that would have been cheaper if they had remained single. I’m sure they will start complaining about that very soon.

We still have to pay thousands of dollars to the IRS every year. Believe me, I would rather pay the taxes so that people (especially children) can have medical insurance. I think it sure beats using the money to kill people in Iraq or Afghanistan. Who knows, maybe there will even be fewer abortions because women who have medical insurance where maternity care is a requirement will have one less reason to be desperate.

I’m sorry this post is so long, and I hope the guy who started this thread doesn’t divorce his wife, but he really does have a good point. Married people can end up paying more for certain things, and it really isn’t fair.
 
OP, I’d like you to sit back for a moment and think about why are you so upset at other people who abuse the welfare system. Its because you know very well that the point of the welfare system, its purpose, is to help those truly in need. It is our duty as Catholics to provide assistance to those who need it and the welfare system is one way that Americans try to do this. Now, keeping that in mind, (that the welfare system is only meant to help those who are truly in need) it should be pretty understandable to you why people think what you are trying to do is immoral. You are trying to find a way to abuse an already overtaxed and flawed system which is currently necessary in the US in order to help those who are truly in need. In doing so you would be helping to destroy a system which is currently helping to people truly in need to survive. The system may be flawed, but it still serves a very real and needed purpose and so abusing it is still wrong. Even if you manage to find some technical way of getting around the letter of the law you will be breaking the spirit of the law, and you will be doing so for a law whose spirit is a mandate of Catholicism, to take care of those in need, to help those less fortunate than ourselves. It doesn’t matter how many games you play to twist words and the letter of the law, you will be acting immorally if you act on your current plan. Thats really all there is to it.
 
Also, OP, just so you know, the fact that you divorced your wife legally for the sole purpose of finding a legal loophole that would allow your wife to receive welfare/disability is absolutely a relevant piece of information. You claimed earlier you would inform them of all relevant information, does this mean that you intend to make sure they know that your divorce is only a farce used to get around the technicalities of the law as written?
1.2. The legal definition of welfare fraud in California law
Welfare fraud takes place when people make false statements or fail to report important information when applying for these types of public programs in order to receive benefits to which they are not otherwise entitled.

Most instances of California welfare fraud are prohibited under Welfare and Institutions Code 10980 WIC. You violate this law by

deliberately misstating information or failing to provide relevant information in order to obtain, retain or increase undeserved welfare benefits,

applying for benefits under more than one name or by filing multiple applications to obtain multiple benefits, and/or

using, transferring, acquiring, purchasing, selling, possessing, altering or counterfeiting

(a) authorizations to receive food stamps, or

(b) actual food stamps.2
 
Conversely has a point. Jesus said to “render unto Ceasar the things which are Ceasars…” he never said that one had to render more than Ceasar required. In the above case, the man is following the law–only he is following it to the VERY letter–and not one step more. The government made the law regarding divorces and the law this man is following. It also has made the laws concerning income tax deductions that I doubt any of us would say that we don’t claim any and all of that we can within the law. So, I don’t know. I don’t think i’m going to personally be so quick to judge the Me
Mexican american man. Maybe he’d doing about thee same as the rest of us–following thee law to the “t”.
So when the law says : "tells all income earned in your household from all sources " and you leave out the income of the person living with you in your household,

How is that following the letter of the law to a T ??
 
But at the same time the church does require a civil license if you want to perform the marriage sacrament.
For now.

Back during Reconstruction in my state, Catholic weddings were forbidden. But priests did it anyway. The Church tells us to go along with the state until the state crosses the line. But the Church does not, in any way, depend on the state to define what a marriage is or isn’t. If it did, Catholic parishes would be doing same-sex marriages in the states where it’s legal. But they don’t.
 
For now.

Back during Reconstruction in my state, Catholic weddings were forbidden. But priests did it anyway. The Church tells us to go along with the state until the state crosses the line. But the Church does not, in any way, depend on the state to define what a marriage is or isn’t. If it did, Catholic parishes would be doing same-sex marriages in the states where it’s legal. But they don’t.
Yes, this is also why St Valentine was martyred for performing illegal weddings in Rome, but when weddings are legal in the state, the church REQUIRES you to follow the civil procedure so that you are truly “all in” .

You can not get married in the US in the church without a civil marriage license. Likewise the church would not honor a situation where the couple civilly divorced to try and manipulate the civil regulations.
 
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