My sister is divorced and has 3 kids. The divorce decree states that her ex is responsible for all medical expenses for the kids. The other day she got a nasty phone call from the hospital on a $900 bill from emergency room visits from over a year ago that her ex has not paid. They say because she was the one that signed the forms that she is responsible for the money owed, even though according to the law he is the one responsible. Can the hospital do that? What should she do? Her lawyer isn't much help. She lives in the state of Kansas.
2006-10-16 09:03:49 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
That agreement is between the ex-spouses, not the hospital and them. She should pay the bill, and pursue him in court for this money. She certainly doesn't want to be in the position of being denied services in the future due to an unpaid bill.
2006-10-16 09:17:22 · answer #1 · answered by melouofs 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like she is responsible for the monies owed to the hospital and then she will have to get reimbursed from her ex. Perhaps if she sends a copy of the decree to the hospital/collections they will be able to see officially that her ex is responsible? Unfortunately, she signed the forms and she has the kids so she IS responsible for the debt.
2006-10-16 09:07:24 · answer #2 · answered by Goose&Tonic 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The divorce decree is not binding on third parties (such as the hospital). Your sister will have to pay the bill and seek restitution from her ex-husband. The court that handled the divorce may help her collect.
2006-10-16 12:23:26 · answer #3 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with Goose. It's not the hospital's fault for trying to collect from her. She signed the emergency room forms, so she is responsible for paying. The divorce decree is an agreement between your sister and her ex, not the hospital and the ex.
Your sister needs to send the bill to her ex and tell him to pay it. If he won't pay it, she will have to pay the bill and possibly sue the ex to collect from him.
2006-10-16 09:16:30 · answer #4 · answered by CPAKeith 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The admittance forms always have a "promise to pay" statement in them so if she signed the admittance form, she is responsible. She should pay the hospital then sue the ex and recover her money.
2006-10-16 09:17:26 · answer #5 · answered by dcgirl 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would have her call her local clerks office and ask them. It seems that if it is stated in her divorce decree that he is responsible...then they should be able to enforce that. I feel sorry for her. Hopefully, she will find out how to make him pay!
2006-10-16 09:12:18 · answer #6 · answered by ANGEL 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋