Does not obey court order

[turtle42]

My ex-wife is suppose to inform me of any medical or dental procedures she has done to our son.. She never consults me on anything and now has had braces put on our son. Without telling me anything she sends me a statement for $2400 saying this is my half of the braces that I owe to her. What she sent me was not a bill, and when I called the orthodontist office they would not tell me anything. I plan to pay my half, but cant pay it all at one time. What legal rights do I have? I live in Florida.

 

[Ronne]

Does your decree state that you are to pay half? Have you ever signed anything at the orthodontist office assuming financial responsibility for any work done there?

 

[turtle42]

My court order does say that I have to pay half of all medical and dental bills. And no I have not signed anthing at the orthodontist office. My ex-wife is the one who signed the contract.

 

[turtle42]

My court order does say that I have to pay half of all medical and dental bills. And no I have not signed anthing at the orthodontist office. My ex-wife is the one who signed the contract.

 

[usdeeper]

Just tell her you will not entertain the idea of any payment until you see the actual invoice. Also that she gives permission for you to be able to contact any of the medical departs so you can speak to the specialist direct.

Normally.. she would have to inform you of things like braces as it goes along the lines of being involved with any major decisions involving the child.

That is.. if this is in your custody agreement...

 

[turtle42]

Our court order states that she is suppose to consult and advise me on any medical or dental procedures that she had done to our child. This she never does. Also, I have already sent her a letter telling her I wanted an actual bill from the orthodontist, and that when I called the orthodontist office that I should be able to get any information necessary. I also asked her if she would work with me some way to pay her the $2400. She wrote me back that I owed her $2400, and gave me a few suggestions on how I could come up with the money, such as borrowing it etc. She did not send me an actual bill nor give me any reply about calling the orthodontist office.

 

[usdeeper]

The problem here is that if you refuse to pay.. she will make you pay via some other means like being out when you turn up for visitation.. going to court to amend child support. This is a common patten...

If you do not pay, and this went to court, I am pretty sure you would win because of the specific part of the agreement that says she has to consult with you. Also her refusal to send a copy of the invoice or allow you access to the dentist. If the amount was $100 then that is one thing.. but $2400 ??.. no judge would accept that she had a right to spend that without consulting you, especially since it was not an emergency.

Do you think that she could pay her half totalling $2400 ? Lets be honest.. her refusal to send the invoice tells me that the total was like $2800 and she is trying to con you.

Why not phone the orthodontist and ask for a rough estimate for braces for a child..

 

[turtle42]

The one time I called the orthodontist office about the cost, the receptiontist did tell me that braces could run all the way up to $6000. So the $4938 that my ex-wife claims our sons cost was not out of the norm.

I am not refusing to pay, I just cannot pay the total $2400 all at once. My plans are to send her half now and the other half in about six months.

She claims that she borrowed the money from the bank to pay for these braces. But most orthodontist that I know will let you make payments to them. So why would you pay interest on something when you dont have to.

Is there any way to get a court order to make the orthodontist office give me the information that I need to know?

 

[usdeeper]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by turtle42:
I am not refusing to pay, I just cannot pay the total $2400 all at once. My plans are to send her half now and the other half in about six months.

Is there any way to get a court order to make the orthodontist office give me the information that I need to know?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Regardless of whether you want to pay or not.. I would still advise against doing so until you have seen the original invoice. If the total amount is 4800 then there is absolutely no reason for her not to provide it.

As regards to a court order.. well, first you could try visiting the place with your ID and a copy of the divorce agreement stating you can see all records. That is the cheapest route... if that fails, then yes, you can get a court order to view records.

 

[turtle42]

The only problem with me visiting the orthodontist office is that I live in one city in Florida and my ex-wife lives in another city. We are about nine hours apart.

I appreciate all the advise that you have given me on this matter.