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ddamron

Guest
What is the name of your state? Utah- my question is this:
My step son's mother is a smorgasboard of deception. We pay our child support faithfully. We have court ordered visitation which she habitually interferes with. We have gone to court over this a few times and she has been found in contempt but to no avail, also we have been awarded court fees, which she will not pay. Now we are receiving medical bills which she refuses to pay. What are we to do? We provide medical insurance for the child and we are more than willing to cover half the expenses not paid by the insurance, but she will not pay anything. How do we go about holding her accountable for her portion of all bills? We have basically given up fighting for regular visitation, due to the fact that she moves everytime we go to court, and the whole battle starts all over again. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 


kat1963

Senior Member
There are several ways one can go about this depending on the wording of the divorce agreement.
First thing, unless your husband signed forms guaranteeing payment and consenting to treatment with the doctor, he can not be legally billed (mail fraud). If she signed the paperwork with his name, this is forgery.
Mr. KAT used to be billed all the time, but started sending the doctor a letter requesting copies of the above documents & making it clear that he had never been to the office so therefore could not have possibly signed anything. Then giving the information of the responsible party. According to the support agreement, Biotroll is responsible for sending Mr. KAT a copy of the paid bill within 30 days; she never pays anything so there are never any bills. I’d suggest requesting this be added to any future modifications to the support order. Twice a year Mr. KAT sends her a reminder letter to provide copies of the medical bills to be paid (to cover him), never happens. She has tried a few times to request cash ie: 200 for glasses, 600 for dental work. DH tells her to stop by & pick up a check made out to the provider…funny, she never picked them up eh? Wonder why? HA!
The doctor can be paid directly & request that the responsible party be billed for the remainder.
Your husband can also send her a copy of the bill with check for his required amount (photo copied as documentation of course) & that he is responsible to her for payment, not the provide...stop signing his name as such!
AGAIN he MUST read the divorce agreement before proceeding or risk a motion for contempt.
I wouldn’t pay the full amount. He’s not court ordered to do so & like you said he would never be reimbursed. I’ve seen non custodial parents pay thousands of medical bills in full, request reimbursement in court then having the judge state that forcing the custodial parent to pay (at this point since the doctor bill has been satisfied) would be taking away from the amount of support and therefore not in the best interest of the child. Rare, but it does happen so your husband should be aware.
Good luck!
KAT
 
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Boxcarbill

Guest
Of course the reality is that regardless of who signs or takes the child to the doctor's office, both parents are responsible, legally, for the necessities provided to their child by a third party. The doctor is providing a necessity (there is extensive case law holding medical care to be a necessity) and the doctor is the innocent party. Therefore, should the doctor bring suit against either parent for payment for providing this necessity to their child, the doctor will win a judgment.
 

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