Guardianship of a 17-Year-Old with Parents' Consent for Health Insurance Purposes

[rpatga]

My question involves guardianship in the State of: Georgia

If I obtain guardianship of a 17 year old with parents consent, and the teenager moves in with my family, will he be eligible for continuing coverage on my health insurance after he turns 18 in the same manner as my own children (I think my children are eligible for coverage until age... 25?)?

[cbg]

No. He will only be eligible for coverage on your health insurance as long as the court-ordered guardianship exists. Unless the court specifically states that guardianship continues after his 18th birthday, he will no longer be eligible for coverage on your plan.

Your own children may remain on your plan until their 26th birthday.

[Dogmatique]

Agreed (only because cbg has taught me so well here!). And guardianship, unless the child is disabled, will generally end at 18. After that he's on his own.

[rpatga]

Would there be any benefit to pursuing adoption as opposed to guardianship?

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Would there be any benefit to pursing adoption as opposed to guardianship?

[cbg]

Well, if you adopted him the health insurance would continue. But I can't see a court allowing an adoption even WITH parental consent unless the parents are so incredibly unfit that it makes sense to strip them of their parental rights altogether.

[rpatga]

In this case the single parent is not great but would probably not be considered unfit. The teenager needs medical care (psychiatrist) and medication that the parent has no means of providing....he has been diagnosed with several disorders but is not receiving treatment. Maybe a court would be more sympathetic to this cause?

[Dogmatique]

Where is the other parent?

Why is the child not being treated? Has the child actually been diagnosed with anything?

[rpatga]

The other parent is incarcerated, and the mother does not work. The available social services are woefully inadequate, and the teenager has been diagnosed with multiple disorders...HDADD, Bi-polar, others I suspect.

[cbg]

I very, very seriously doubt that any court will deprive a parent of their child so that someone else can provide him with health insurance, regardless of how badly it is needed.