dwmiller69
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois
I have a concern and am looking for your help. I am a non-custodial parent of two daughters from a divorce that occurred in 2007. My ex-wife has sole custody. The child support order calls for me to provide health insurance coverage as well as 50% out of pocket expenses that the insurance does not cover. Because my daughters are rarely sick we opted to go with a basic, low cost PPO with a high deductible. My oldest daughter is 11 and has developed allergy/asthma type symptoms. My ex took her to see an Ear/Nose/Throat specialist and then an Allergy doctor. The doctor did thorough testing for allergies and determined that my daughter needs allergy shots for the next 5 years. My ex-wife paid for these up front with her credit card and says I owe her for my 50% responsibility. These visits/test/shots have cost over $5000 out of pocket and the insurance has a deductible of $5500 so we haven't hit that yet. My wife gets to claim both daughters as dependents for income tax purposes so she can pay her half of the doctor bills with her income tax refund she gets each year. I on the other hand do not get much of a refund. I had to file for bankruptcy back in 2008 as a result of the high lawyer costs from the divorce so I no longer have credit. I work two jobs/75 hours a week as it is just to be able to survive in Chicago (since I do pay about $1400 in child support payments monthly, not counting health insurance). My question is this, what does a person do if the court says they are responsible for 50% of the out of pocket doctor bills, but their net income doesn't leave enough money to pay the bills? I guess they (the court) could hold me in contempt but how can I pay what I don't have?
Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. I've never had an issue paying my share of the doctor bills before but now I'm not sure what to do.
I have a concern and am looking for your help. I am a non-custodial parent of two daughters from a divorce that occurred in 2007. My ex-wife has sole custody. The child support order calls for me to provide health insurance coverage as well as 50% out of pocket expenses that the insurance does not cover. Because my daughters are rarely sick we opted to go with a basic, low cost PPO with a high deductible. My oldest daughter is 11 and has developed allergy/asthma type symptoms. My ex took her to see an Ear/Nose/Throat specialist and then an Allergy doctor. The doctor did thorough testing for allergies and determined that my daughter needs allergy shots for the next 5 years. My ex-wife paid for these up front with her credit card and says I owe her for my 50% responsibility. These visits/test/shots have cost over $5000 out of pocket and the insurance has a deductible of $5500 so we haven't hit that yet. My wife gets to claim both daughters as dependents for income tax purposes so she can pay her half of the doctor bills with her income tax refund she gets each year. I on the other hand do not get much of a refund. I had to file for bankruptcy back in 2008 as a result of the high lawyer costs from the divorce so I no longer have credit. I work two jobs/75 hours a week as it is just to be able to survive in Chicago (since I do pay about $1400 in child support payments monthly, not counting health insurance). My question is this, what does a person do if the court says they are responsible for 50% of the out of pocket doctor bills, but their net income doesn't leave enough money to pay the bills? I guess they (the court) could hold me in contempt but how can I pay what I don't have?
Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. I've never had an issue paying my share of the doctor bills before but now I'm not sure what to do.