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Often the hardest part of getting divorced if you have children, is dividing time with the children between the two parents.  In addition, there are almost always questions about how the finances with regards to the children should be handled and who should handle what expenses for the children.  This blog is written to generally explain how the children's uninsured medical or out-of-pocket expenses will be shared by the parents after a divorce or separation in Michigan.  If you have questions regarding your own situation, you can schedule a consultation by clicking on this link or calling (248) 608-4123.

How Are Kids' Medical Expenses Handled After A Divorce In Michigan?

Typically one parent will provide the health insurance for the children as benefit of their employment.  The additional expense of adding the children to the healthcare policy is taken into account when calculating child support.  The parent providing the health insurance for the children will be reimbursed for a percent of that added expense as part of the monthly child support.

The out-of-pocket or deductibles are also taken into account as part of the child support.  Typically one parent will pay an additional monthly amount as part of the child support to the other parent, this is a minimum amount of around $10-$12 per month.  The parent that receives that additional payment is responsible for the first $200 of out of pocket expenses and deductibles.  Once that parent has paid $200 of out of pocket expenses/deductibles, then any amount over that is considered an extraordinary medical expense. 

This leads to the last aspect of the Michigan Child Support Formula that is relevant to this blog.  When it comes to extraordinary medical expenses, the formula will determine what percent each parent should pay of the extraordinary medical expenses.  This precent is based upon the parties incomes and what each parent's income would represent as a whole of the family income if they had not been divorced or separated.  This sounds more complicated than it is, so an example is helpful..  If parent one is earning $80,000 annually and parent two is earning $120,000, the total family income is $200,000.  This means that parent one is responsible for 40% of the extraordinary medical expenses and parent 2 is responsible for 60%.  Typically the parent that has to be reimbursed makes the reimbursement request to the other parent and then that parent directly reimburses the other parent.  If the parent refuses to reimburse, then the parent seeking to be reimbursed can file a simple form complaint with the Friend of the Court and they will handle collecting the reimbursement if necessary.

This blog was written to address this very specific area of family law.  If you have questions regarding any aspect of family law, please do not hesitate to contact us to schedule a consultation by clicking on this link or calling (@48) 608-4123.