Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia
unreimbursed medical expenses
In July of 2000 I signed a separation agreement with my ex-wife agreeing to pay 50% of unreimbursed medical expenses for my two children. Over the last seven years I have explained to my ex-wife on numerous occasions that I am unable to pay my portion of the expenses if she does not forward the medical bills showing proof of payment. Now after seven years she got mad and is sending me summaries of the children�s insurance claims off the website and telling me to pay my part within ten days or she will take me to small claims court, but the information provided does not tell me exactly what she paid the doctor or even if she paid anything at all. She is not sending me actual doctor bills with an amount shown that had to be paid or cancelled checks. One paper she sent has a total for member responsibility for the year 2005-but that does not necessarily mean that was what she was billed for directly from a doctor. Can she actually sue me for the expenses after seven years and with no real proof (reciepts, checks, doctor bills) that she paid on those claims? Also what is considered unreimbursed medical expenses?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: unreimbursed medical expenses
Assuming that your PSA (property settlement agreement)was incorporated(but not merged)into your final decree of divorce, this bit of marital law lingo would mean that your agreement or contract continues to survive to this very day as an independently enforceable instrument and would be enforceable by a court of proper jurisdiction called upon to review it for violations alleged to have occurred under it.
However, merely because a disgruntled party brings suit under this contract, in no way signifies that s/he would necessarily prevail on his or her claim(s). And, unless your wife is able to bring some focus and organization to her evidence alleging unpaid bills owed by you under the aforementioned agreement, she (in my opinion) would be unlikely to win the kind of award for damages to which she may believe that she's clearly entitled.
Re: unreimbursed medical expenses
Bottom line: If she sues, she may get some of what she thinks is owed and has not been paid over the last seven years, but probably not more than 10 to 20% of what she's claiming that you owe unless her evidence is much better organized and therefore persuasive to the judge.
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