Court Order vs. Child Support Order

[angeleyzad]

What is the name of your state? Maine

Quick Question - the child support order paperwork (separate from the court order) has an included paragraph that states the obligee is responsible for the initial $250 not covered by insurance. This is not stated in the court order. The court order states: The defendant (The NCP) shall be responsible for providing health insurance coverage for the children...Any uninsured medical expenses for the children shall be shared by the parties in proportion to their relative earnings...

Which order would take precidence? I am thinking the court order, the NCP is saying the child support order. I asked him for a copay that he now does not want to pay, I haven't asked for alot of them, only ones that went beyond the regular doctor visits (our son had to have a surgical procedure, which had a copay higher than that of the regular doctor visits). Any insight would be appreciated.What is the name of your state?

 

[Claire's mom]

My CO states that CP is responsible for first $250, then it is split in proportion to earnings. I may be wrong, but I believe that is standard. That includes co-pays for doc visits & prescriptions.

 

[angeleyzad]

but...

Right, there wouldn't be a question if it said in both the court order and on child support order, but my court order does not specify that I have to foot the first $250...the court order states that any expenses not covered by insurance are split relative to our incomes. I don't know if I should go by child support order, which has the $250 stipulated, or the court oder, that states we split uncovered charges.

 

[Claire's mom]

Guess I'm confused... b/c my Child Support Order is a Court Order. ?????

 

[angeleyzad]

right...it is confusing.

I know, I have the actual court order for my divorce, which states the amount of child support at the time, as well as the information about the payment of uninsured expenses...(the splitting according to our incomes). I guess I should call that my divorce judgement, instead of court order. There is also a separate Child Support Order with the income garnishment order attached to the divorce order. It is only on the page of the child support order that it states $250 paid by the obligor.

 

[Silverplum]

Right, there wouldn't be a question if it said in both the court order and on child support order, but my court order does not specify that I have to foot the first $250...the court order states that any expenses not covered by insurance are split relative to our incomes. I don't know if I should go by child support order, which has the $250 stipulated, or the court oder, that states we split uncovered charges.

Let me check here, let me know if I'm wrong in the order of events:
1) Court order (for divorce, right?)
THEN
2) Child support order with the $250 stipulation

The second order replaces items in the first order. For example, if nothing about the IRS tax deductions was mentioned in the CS order, but it was specified in the CO, the tax deductions remain the same.

If the OLDER ORDER was silent or contradictory on a point, the LATER ORDER rules on that point. If the 2nd order (or subsequent) does not CHANGE an item in the original order, the original order stands on those points.

 

[angeleyzad]

but...

Both orders were from the same day, same court hearing. What you're telling me, too, is that if we have child support revised, then it would automatically change what the divorce judgement stipulated? (that we split the uninsured medical expenses, not me having to cover the first $250) Would we have to have the divorce judgement revised or ammended to change that? I didn't think that the child support order could change the divorce judgement, except in the amount of support ordered...not payments for things other than child support.

 

[haiku]

you may want to check Maine state child support guidelines online. Quite a few states specify in the state guidelines that the custodial parent will be responsible for a certain amount of medical expenses each year before the NCP obligation kicks in.

ALL child support and visitation orders go by the state guidelines. Your personal court orders clarify and personalize the state guidelines.

 

[angeleyzad]

further on the point...

I guess another question would be, what constitutes medical expenses? Would the cost of insuring the children be considered? The reason being, my ex did not have our 2 children covered for quite a while (about 4 years). He still got the credit for it in the child support worksheet. So our boys had insurance, I covered them. At the time (4 years ago) he told me that he would reimburse me for the cost of the insurance. He was also paying his portion of the copays. He never reimbursed me, and I never pressed the issue because he paid the copays. Now, he doesn't want to pay anything beyond the child support order.

Could I claim the $20 a week it costs me to add the children on my insurance policy as a medical expense?

 

[haiku]

I guess another question would be, what constitutes medical expenses? Would the cost of insuring the children be considered? The reason being, my ex did not have our 2 children covered for quite a while (about 4 years). He still got the credit for it in the child support worksheet. So our boys had insurance, I covered them. At the time (4 years ago) he told me that he would reimburse me for the cost of the insurance. He was also paying his portion of the copays. He never reimbursed me, and I never pressed the issue because he paid the copays. Now, he doesn't want to pay anything beyond the child support order.

Could I claim the $20 a week it costs me to add the children on my insurance policy as a medical expense?

if he is court ordered to pay the ins. and is getting credit for it he is in contempt, and you need to go to court to reflectt the fact YOU are now covering the kids.

The first 250, a year is the cost of co-pays, and unisnured medical expense.