Timeframe for reimbursement

North Carolina Divorce Law Divorce and Separation Answers
#1

My husband and his ex split uninsured medical costs. She has not sent a bill in three years. At the end of last year, she and my husband resolved some disagreement over old bills and she told him she still had lots of bills to send him. So he waited to send her a check until the end of the year. From the time of their discussion, she sent no new bills. He has just filed to terminate child support as his son is now 18 and just graduated. The concern is that she will show up at the hearing with bills that can be up to 3 years old. She has had plenty of time to submit any bills. The CO only says that she carries insurance, they split uninsured costs 50/50, and that he has to reimburse her within a certain amount of time. Is there a statute that addresses how long the custodial parent has to send a bill? I think it’s really unreasonable to expect someone to pay a bill that is over 3 months if it has never been presented to the other parent. But I can’t find anything that addresses this.

Thank you so much for any advice.

#2

I’m assuming she would have to provide him the bill and receipt of payment within a reasonable amount of time.

My order specifically says that either party only has X number of days to present the receipt, and the paying party has X number of days to reimburse.

#3

No, there is no statute, such issues would be determined on a case by case basis, and it would be up to the judge to determine how far back he/she would order contribution on bills.

#4

Thank you EOTL and Erin. Is there some sort of guideline that judges follow when deciding how far back to allow submission of bills for reimbursement. The ex has had multiple methods to contact my husband, and frequently used email to send copies of bills. She has claimed to not have had our physical address, but the court, the child support office, and the white pages all hold our address and are easily accessible. The email that is her point of contact with him has not changed in nearly 18 years.

What sort of factors does a judge look at?

#5

The judge will evaluate the claim based on the reasonableness of the delay.