Debt during separation

What is the name of your state? georgia

who is responsible?

a husband and wife are separated, through no legal form, for 6 months. during their separation the husband has maintain health insurance on his estranged wife and 2 children. the husband has the couples 2 children in his care. his estranged wife admitts herself into the hospital for drug/alchohol abuse using his insurance card with his name. the husband is unaware of this until he receives bills from the hospital, he is currently being sued for the bill. the lawyer handle the suit claims he is responsible because he maintain health insurance on his now-ex-wife. what code or precedent in georgia supports this claim? what code or precedent in georgia supports that debt incurred by a spouse during separation is the responsibility of the spouse incurring the debt unless the debt is for the benefit of a minor child?

Georgia doesn't have a "legal seperation" statute. Therefore, she is still his wife, no matter if they've seperated and lived apart. He is still contractually obligated as per his insurance company's policy, to pay any bills in the same way as if they were still living under the same roof. She is not his "ex-wife" until the day a judge signs the final decree.

i'm aware of the legal statute and have read the georgia code regarding the term 'separation'. i know there has to be a court precedent out there that protects a person from debts incurred by spouse during separtation. i have found precedents in community property states but not in common law states such as georgia. please advise

If she went out and bought a car, he wouldn't be responsible. If she went out and maxed out her credit cards, he wouldn't be liable. If she went out and purchased a home, he wouldn't be responsible.

The facts are, HE still had her covered on his insurance plan. HE was responsible for removing her from that plan. HE was the one who, per the policy agreement was responsible for the payment of the bills accrued, if any. She was still his wife, she was still covered under his plan, and he knew that. Whether he knew she went to the rehab or whatever it was isn't the issue here. The issue is his legal responsibility under that insurance plan. If he didn't want to be responsible for any charges, then he should have had her removed from the plan. He didn't do that. So LEGALLY, he is responsible for the bill as it involved insurance that he kept in force and he knew that she was still on the policy.

so, if he had no insurance then he would not be liable? the insurance policy is a contractual agreement between the insurer and the insuree, not with the hospital. my question, again….what legal precedent exist stating that debts incurred by a spouse during separation are the responsibility of the spouse incurring the debt. please advise, thank you.

cherana...

I don't know how to get you to understand...

He had a contractual agreement to pay for the insurance. On that insurance are himself, his 2 children, and his wife. She made use of that insurance. The fact that they were separated when she did MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. He contracted with the provider. He put her on the policy. He knew this. He left her on there after they serarated. The insurance company and the hospital do not care if they are separated or still living in the same house. The fact is, she was still LEGALLY covered on that insurance as his wife, she was still his wife, and she did nothing illegal by using the insurance.

If he had no insurance, then NO he would not be responsible for the bill she incurred. A third party can not be billed if they did not give consent to be billed, or consent to treatment. BUT, when he signed that insurance contract, he GAVE HIS CONSENT basically. She is on his insurance, and she has the right to seek treatment without his approval, and to file it on his insurance. There is no "precedent" in Georgia, because Georgia doesn't have a separation statute. I've lived in Georgia for 34 of my 36 years of life. I was married and divorced in Georgia. I was covered on my husband's insurance after we separated in Georgia. I never had cause to file on his insurance, but had I done so, it was well within my right to do it because he kept me covered on that policy even though we lived apart. If I had gone to an ER, gave them the insurance card, been covered on that policy, and filed on that policy to cover treatment, my ex would have been responsible for what the insurance didn't cover because that is part of his contract with the insurance company. NOT that the person that uses the insurance is responsible, but that the person who has the contract with the ins. company is the responsible party.

thank you,
I understand quite well. I understand there is no statute in georgia on separation thus my insistence on a previous ruling of this nature. I have found one case, Blair v. Blair, in which the ex-husband was require to maintain health insurance on his ex-wife and failure in doing so resulted in him being financially responsible for the cost of medical care that the insurance would have covered. He was not, however, responsible for the additional cost that the insurance did not cover, (deductibles, co-pay etc). This became the responsibility of his ex-wife. Now this particular case dealt with a divorce and the adhesion of the provisions in this divorce, not my case in point. They were not divorced, nor was he required to keep health insurance, yet they were living apart, hence my request for provisions of financial liabilities during separation. I can show, why he is not responsible for the debt based on this case, but I need a decision illustrating debt in a separate living relationship. True, the state of Georgia does not recognize “legal separation” however; it is addressed in the Georgia code as “voluntary separation, or in a bona fide state of separation”. Title 19, Chapter 6, section 8-10. I am assuming you are familiar with the legal system and that you are familiar with cases in which the letter of the law does not spell out certain provisions, that other court rulings are used in making decisions. Since you are not aware of any ruling the lower court (although I did not specify lower courts, I did specify georgia) I can search for a high court ruling in this case. Thank you for you input.
Please note: this case involves 2 minor children in which the ex-husband has custody and is entitled to child support. He is responsible for maintaining health insurance on his children. His company’s family insurance premiums do not change if his spouse in on the policy or not. During the time of their separation, his intent was to raise and provide for his 2 children, not to support his estranged ex-wife.