Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New Jersey

Re: Ex-husband fails to follow-up on medical bill for daughter

The answer to your question is in the question itself. You say you and your husband are not on speaking terms. Both you and your husband need to "grow up" and put your fighting behind you, in the best interests of your child. Responsibility for effectively communicating rests equally upon both you and your ex.

Regarding the legal obligation to pay for your daughter's medical care, obviously, the facility is going to come after the both of you if insurance won't pay and if neither of you will step up to the plate.

I can't tell who is ultimately responsible for this snafu. That depends on the terms of your agreement and the specific facts which actually come out about who was responsible for the bill not being paid in the first place. Presumably, your ex's view of the facts differ from your own, or else he would have voluntarily paid the bill already. He probably has some excuse to blame you. I'm not the judge, and I can't sit here and tell you who the judge is going to find responsible to pay at this point.

However, unless the CAT scan cost in excess of a couple of thousand dollars, you and your husband will definitely be paying more to fight it out with the lawyers then if you were cooperating reasonably to attempt to get insurance to pay for it; and if not insurance, then working out who should pay the hospital, and how much (perhaps you could negotiate a reduced bill if insurance won't pay).

This type of infantile fighting between you and your husband has a real cost, not just to you and him, but obviously, to your child. If you keep it up, and the result is that medical bills don't get paid (whether by insurance or by a parent or the parents), this could result in a difficulty in getting your child medical care when she may really need it in the future.

Saying that you don't care because you think you can get the court to order your husband to pay your attorney's fees doesn't solve the basic problem, which is the childish behavior of the parents. Every dime spent on attorney's fees is that much less money that could be going to the child's college fund or other desirable use of the money. Every time you have to go back to court to fight with your husband, the bitterness is renewed.

If you are the custodial parent, then the bottom line is that if your ex refuses to get valid health insurance for your child, YOU must take that responsibility on, simply to ensure that she DOES have medical care available when needed. You can always go to court later if necessary to get reimbursed by your ex for the health insurance premiums.

But, the bottom line here is that essentially, you let your child go without valid health insurance for some period of time. (i.e. regardless of who ultimately pays the bill for that insurance). You can try to blame that on your ex all you want, but as the custodial parent, the buck stops with YOU. So, you are both at fault.