Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Child support/medical insurance

My husband has a 15 year old daughter who lives with his ex-girlfriend. She does not come to see us any longer. He pays child support each week and we have medical insurance for her. The court papers state that he has to pay 37% of any unpaid medical bills, which is fine, however, we are starting to recieve bills in the mail with his name on them. Is this legal? Can she put his name on these bills? If not, what can we do about it? Also, we do not have dental coverage under our plan. She is upset with this stating that the daughter needs braces. I don't know of any dental plan that covers braces. Is he obligated to pay 37% of the braces bill if she decides to get them for her. The mother states that she is totally disabled. I don't know if any of that matters.


Asked on 11/15/05, 8:56 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Seth Kaufman Kaufman PLLC

Re: Child support/medical insurance

Your husband should have an attorney review the child support order to be sure that it is correctly interpreted. But a third party, the provider of services, cannot unilaterally impose a legal obligation on the father to pay the bills directly. Unless the order states otherwise, the father should send the correct amount to the mother upon receiving any bills, referencing "child support" and the particular invoice or bill on the check itself. Braces may be considered medical treatment, but if they are clearly cosmetic in nature, it's an issue worth looking at.

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Answered on 11/15/05, 1:11 pm


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