Medical Expenses – Getting the Other Parent to Pay their Fair Share

by Sharon Corsentino

When considering whether to file an enforcement action to collect past due unreimbursed medical expenses from the parent of your child, it is important to have everything in order prior to filing. To enforce orders of the court, you must be very specific about each violation the opposing party has allegedly committed.

The clients who are most successful in obtaining a judgment for the full amount they are claiming are the ones who keep impeccable records. While it is quite a burdensome task, it can definitely pay off in the long run.

My advice to clients is to treat your child’s unreimbursed medical expenses like a business.

1. Open a separate file for the receipts.
2. Keep a spreadsheet of when you gave notice of the expense to the other party and whether it was paid.
3. Keep copies of emails or letters you send to the other party notifying them of the unreimbursed expenses.
4. If you send a notice letter via U.S. mail and it is returned to you as undeliverable, keep the letter unopened. Make a notation on a sticky note to identify the contents of the letter.

It is also very important that you do not hoard the receipts. Send the receipts to the opposing party in a timely manner using the time frames set out in the order. Do not wait to just send them to the opposing party on an annual, semi-annual, or quarterly basis. You must make certain that you are complying with the terms of the orders so that if the opposing party fails to reimburse you, then you can enforce the order.

Sharon Corsentino is an experienced Collaborative attorney, mediator and litigator at Albin | Harrison | Roach in Plano, Texas. She works primarily in the areas of family law, probate, and estate planning. Sharon helps couples to settle their disputes privately, without involving a judge who could impose decisions on them that do not meet their needs. Sharon’s non-adversarial approach generally results in unique settlements that truly address the interests and concerns of all parties.