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Understand How Medical Care Costs Are Handled In Child Custody

On Behalf of | May 29, 2020 | Child Support, Firm News |

Child support payments are meant to help provide for the children. As part of this order, one parent is usually responsible for providing medical insurance for the kids. While this will cover some of the medical care the kids need, it won’t cover everything. There has to be a plan for paying the uninsured expenses that come with some medical care.

The child support order will likely dictate how this is split. There are several ways that might be managed. One option is for each parent to be assigned a percentage of these expenses. Another is that one parent be responsible for a specific dollar amount and then the other parent covers the balance.

Typically, the parent who is with the child when they incur the uninsured cost will pay for the bill. They will then need to be reimbursed for the expense in some way. This might be handled immediately, but some orders for support stipulate monthly or quarterly settlements for these expenses.

One factor that comes into the picture for some of these expenses is that they might not be deemed necessary or reasonable. If there is something that might be considered unreasonable or unnecessary, you should find out if the other parent will willingly split the bill according to the order’s terms. If they won’t, you may have to turn to the court for an answer. Sometimes, a parent won’t have to be responsible for a bill that’s for unnecessary or unreasonable care.

If you’re unsure about what to do regarding an extraordinary medical expense, your attorney can help you find out what your order stipulates. This might help you to determine how to handle the situation.