Q: My daughter is 18, still under my insurance. Her co-pay and uninsured procedures exceed $200. Who pays that extra bill?
I can't afford a lawyer but currently submitting on my own. I've texted my ex to no avail. I want to submit legal paperwork but unsure how to get started.
Thx
A: Unless the date of service for the healthcare that resulted in the bill occurred before she turned 18 (or after she turned 18 but was still enrolled full-time in high school before completing her senior year), then the obligation to pay any deductibles and co-pays is hers alone, since she is now an adult and legally emancipated. The only way a parent (you or your ex-spouse) would have any obligation to pay or contribute is if there was an agreement reached bewteen the two of you, in writing, obligating the payment for healthcare services after her 18th birthday. What obligations your ex may have had to pay toward health insurance, unreimbursed healthcare bills and other medical expenses before she became legally emancipated should be spelled out in any child support order, or other order incorporating any agreement made between the two of you. Of course, the two of you can separately or jointly agree to help your adult daughter out with her expenses if you choose, despite there being no legal obligation to do so. Perhaps if your daughter asks her other parent for financial help directly, then she may receive a better response than if it comes from you, assuming that the relationship between you and your ex is not amicable.
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