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Is my ex wife allowed to put my name as the responsible party on medical bills without my consent?
Anonymous2 views2 answers
My ex wife is constantly taking our children to the doctor, and in the last four years, has taken the kids to the emergency room 3 times - every time listing me as the responsible party. Most of the time I am not notified of any of this while it is happening. I just end up receiving a bill months later. Can she do this? Our child support says she is supposed to pay 33%. She has yet to give us any money for any of the medical bills.
Why is it she is able to put it in my name? Is there any way I can have the judge change it so that the bills go into her name and we pay her instead of the other way around? Or even have the medical companies divide it into two accounts so that we do not get sent to collections when she does not pay her portion?
This exact situation happened to one of my clients very recently. The mother was the primary custodial parent, the father was ordered to provide health insurance for the children, and mother would decide when the kids needed to see a doctor, dentist or whatever, choose the provider and take the children to their appointments. She would exclusively list the father as the responsible party--and yet list HER address as his!--and not inform him that she was doing so and not promptly share with him any uncovered expenses that needed to be paid.
The way he generally would find out about it was when he started getting nasty letters from the providers or collections companies to which the debt had been referred. Very sneaky and very effective at sticking it to the ex-spouse. The problem is that, as always, this kind of one-up-manship ends up hurting the children the most, when the provider declares that you can't come here anymore and your children are no longer our patients because your bills aren't paid in full and in a timely manner.
Every decree for a divorce involving children should (and most do) state that both parents have to provide timely and complete disclosure to the other parent regarding their children's health and welfare, as well as consult with the other parent in advance about any contemplated non-emergency medical procedures or treatments, with the requirement that the parties have to agree and if they can't the custodial parent will be allowed to make the final decision but will have to pay the entire cost. If one or the other parent is just being plain uncooperative in regard to child medical matters, you can haul them back into court to have a judge reprimand them and enforce the order. Best of luck to you!
Jason Scott TreguboffBankruptcy AttorneyPhoenix, AZ ·
Are your children covered under your insurance plan or your ex wife's? Either way, the medical provider is allowing her to indicate you as the responsible party. Your decree probably contains language that she is supposed to keep you informed about medical decisions.
You can seek reimbursement for the uncovered medical expenses that she owes pursuant to your decree. Provide her with copies of the receipts and the amounts she owes. Generally, you have 18 months to seek reimbursement for uncovered medical expenses.
You can file a motion to enforce and seek reimbursement for the uncovered medical costs she is supposed to pay. You could also ask the court to clarify as to who the responsible party should be when the children are taken to a medical provider.
You should speak to a family law attorney to determine how you should proceed in this matter. Many firms, such as ours, offer free consultations.
