Concord, NC asked in Family Law for North Carolina

Q: I just received a "Motion for Contempt" for medical bills from my ex-wife for my now 22 y/o that are 4-9 yrs old

This is in NC. In 2000 Very, very bad divorce, child custody, accusations, etc. In 2007 Court ordered counseling, I attended but my ex stopped bringing my daughter and then they moved a couple states away in 2011/2. I have not seen my daughter since. She is now 22. I just received this Motion in the mail with alleged un-paid medical bills from 2010-2016 that she says I owe her 1/2 of. Her attorney (on the paperwork) will not send me the bills because she says she sent them in Dec 2017 and I refused service (no idea what that means as I have lived in the same house and had the same phone number since 2012) I am in shock as to why she waited this long-can she still recover these? I'm not even sure I can locate my cancelled checks from this long ago. And I can not research before court in a couple weeks because she will not provide them. Do you think I would be successful with a Motion to Dismiss? Thanks so much for your opinion on this matter.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Amanda Bowden Johnson
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Answered
  • Jacksonville, NC
  • Licensed in North Carolina

A: The outcome depends on several factors but two are most important: 1) if the bills are legitimate, and 2) if you are under an obligation to pay. If so - ya gotta pay up simple as that. At this point, you just need to bite the bullet and hire an attorney. Your odds of a motion to dismiss or even really successfully defending against the contempt on your own are likely less than slim and none, especially if you roll up into to court with the story you told here. Good news is after this is over you likely won't ever have to deal with them again.

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