Financial Responsiblity

[Jyotsna]

Who is responsible for your child's medical cost? Is it clearly layed out in your ppp? If you sign at the doctors office, does that relieve him from having to pay?

[LoveOhm]

As I understand it, in my state (CA), both parents are expected to have insurance coverage for the child if they can afford it and it's available to them at a reasonable cost. Health insurance (as well as childcare) is in addition to any child support amount.

Parents are expected to evenly split any cost not covered by insurance. With signing the financial form at the doctors office, YOU are responsible for the cost in the eyes of the doctors office (meaning it will affect your credit alone if there are billing issues) but you can then turn around and sue your ex.

More and more judges and changing the 50/50 to a split based on a percentage of income but still the default here is 50/50 on those expenses.

[NolaRiordan]

I believe it's different in different states. Here in Michigan out of pocket medical expenses are split according to income. No I don't think signing at the Dr office has anything to do with it. Whoever takes the kid ends up signing the forms. That doesn't absolve the other person of the financial obligation. It's actually best if you can get the Dr office to bill you separately.

[Avani]

50/50 here. However, my ex never covers his half and i get stuck with it all. Unless i take the time to file contempt over it. Which is a lot of work to deal. Right now he owes about $1000 and it is getting ready to go to collections in my name and my kids will lose their dentist.

[One_Girl]

It is clearly spelled out in our divorce decree, but my ex isn't living up to it. He is suppossed to have insurance for dd and pay 51% of the premium cost and of any other medical costs. I am the one who has insurance for dd and I have to save the receipts so I can bring him to court someday and have them reimbursed. I sign for everything so it all goes through me and I am responsible for any cost. He is a deadbeat dad so getting him to sign isn't possible. I am already doing this with the daycare receipts so it isn't a surprise, just a pain.

[Tilia]

I had it laid out in the divorce decree. He must carry insurance on her and pay 90% of out-of-pocket costs, due to the difference in our incomes.

[RollerCoasterMama]

Ours is signed and submitted, but not final yet. We didn't want to change networks, so we're keeping DS on my insurance. We split the premiums based on income about 60% (me) - 40% (him). When things change, I'm supposed to notify the county and they'll tweak the withholding appropriately.

Because of our situations, I chose to bear the burden of DS's medical expenses. But I did put in a safety net for extreme situations. If any one incident of medical/dental/vision comes to more that $500 of uncovered costs, we split the difference. In other words, If there is $1000 in uncovered expenses from a trip to the ER or something, I pay $750, he pays $250. I really don't expect it to ever get invoked, but I really wanted to have something in there for extreme situations if DS got really ill or hurt, or even something simple like braces and I couldn't get good coverage for dental.

In my state, if I end up having uncollectable medical expenses, I can submit the info to the county and they'll roll it in with child support as arrears, so I could get it from his tax refund if nothing else.

In our current state, it shouldn't be a problem, but he's been uncharacteristically stable with his employment the past year. That could change in a heart-beat!

[VocalMinority]

In IN, the parent who can provide the best coverage most affordably provides it and is somehow credited for that in the C/S calculation, so that - in effect - the parents share the cost.

Regardless who provides the insurance, 6% of what the NCP pays in C/S is meant to be applied toward uncovered medical costs. Every year, at the point when the CP has receipts to show she's spent [total annual CS x .06] on out-of-pocket medical, every new bill for the rest of that year is supposed to be divided between the parents, based on the difference in their incomes.

If the parents communicate well, great. If not...WTH? Will the NCP accept the CP's accounting? Will the doctor take a partial payment and wait for the NCP to pay their part? Whose credit rating is affected, if somebody doesn't pay? Will the NCP reimburse the CP if she pays bills in full? Yuck.

It's a mess for my husband who has custody of his son from a previous marriage. His ex owes him a few thousand in out-of-pocket medical costs. Although there are very clearly-worded court orders about when she was supposed to pay him, she just ignored them. Whenever my husband brings it up, she tells him she'll pay when he can prove he's "spent six percent". But she doesn't pay child support, so he's supposed to prove he spent 6% of zero? It's just a ruse. If they go back to court she can say, "I didn't ignore his requests for payment, I answered him. I thought he WAS supposed to prove he paid 6%. It says so in the Child Support Guidelines. I don't know how 6% was supposed to be calculated in our case! I'm not an attorney!" Then the court concludes she was just confused and gives her no consequences and "another chance" to pay...and she keeps blowing it off unless and until my husband makes the effort to take her back to court. That's the game!

But really, what's the court going to do to her? It already took her kid and she lives in another state.

[Goodmom2008]

My ex has to pay a proportionate share of medical costs that go over $250 per year per child (his % is 63%). He does pay. But if he didn't, I would be able to submit the receipts to the probation dept. for reimbursement. The probation dept will only collect child support, spousal support (only if there is a child support order) and medical costs. Extracurricular activities I would have to go to court to enforce.

I provide the health insurance and receive a credit for it in child support. The built in $250 per year per child is not applied to this.