“Orthodontic Expenses in a Divorce”

Orthodontic Expenses in a Divorce

When a parent hears that his or her child will need braces the first thought is likely to be: “How will I pay for this?”

How shall we share the expense?

In a Divorce situation the cost of braces should be shared according to the percentages in the Uniform Child Support Order under Uninsured Health-Care Expense.  The annual ordinary medical amount, currently $407.50 per child, is not subtracted because braces are considered an extraordinary expense.

What to do if the other parent won’t pay his or her share?

The Kent County Friend of the Court has the following procedure:

1. You must make the down payment before requesting reimbursement
2. Send the Request for Health Care Expense Payment form available from the Friend of the Court, along with the braces contract and proof of the down payment to the other parent and wait 28 days for the other parent to pay you directly
3. If you do not receive payment in that time period, send a copy of the Health Care Expense Payment, braces contract and proof of down payment along with the Complaint for Enforcement of Health Care Expense Payment (included with the Request form) to the Friend of the Court.  (If you have signed a contract with the orthodontist and are making monthly payments, you do not have to resubmit a complaint every month.)
4. Friend of the Court will process the papers and send information to both parents showing the amount due by the other parent and how the Friend of the Court calculated the amount.  The other parent then has 21 days to submit a written objection.
5. If no objections are received, the uninsured expense will be charged into the account and will be subject to enforcement in the same way as Child Support.
6. If the other parent files a written objection within the 21 days, the Friend of the Court will schedule a hearing. At the hearing, a referee will hear from both parents and decide if and how much the objecting parent owes.

More information on this is available at the Kent County Friend of the Court website at: 

https://www.accesskent.com/Courts/FOC/ 

If you require assistance on a medical support question such as this, or any other matter related to your Divorce, please contact one of our medical support team members and Divorce attorneys at Damon, Ver Merris, Boyko & Witte, PLC at (616) 975-9951. We are here to help – Curtis R. Witte  /  March 5, 2018

While this posting originates from a law office, none of the contents should, in any way, be considered legal advice. If you have not signed a retention letter describing the legal services to be provided and the amount to be paid for such services, you are not a client of this firm.