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Unexpected medical bills are always almost as unwelcome as the cause for the medical bills themselves.  In some cases, the outstanding bills can be astronomical and cause potential economical hardship.  These concerns are worsened if you are also facing a divorce with all the concerns that come with a divorce or separation.  This blog is written to address how medical bills will be handled in a divorce case in Michigan.  If you have questions regarding your own situation as it pertains to family law, please do not hesitate to contact us to schedule a consultation by clicking on this link or calling (248) 608-4123.

What Happens To Medical Bills In A Divorce In Michigan?

Medical bills are treated like almost all other debt when it comes to a divorce in Michigan.  To determine how any debt will be handled in a divorce, the court will first decide whether it is a marital debt or a separate debt of one spouse.  Most bills or debts that are accumulated during a marriage are going to be considered joint debts so long as they are the types of debts that are part of every day life.  Most of the time that includes spending or outstanding bills that the other spouse may not have agreed with or thinks the other spouse was spending too much on when he or she accumulated the outstanding debt.  Separate debts usually fall into a particular category, one such category is student loan debt which typically is the sole responsibility of the person that received the education, another is money that is spent on a paramour or mistress, such debts are considered the separate debt of whomever incurred them.

Medical bills are almost always considered joint debt.  This seems to be true even for cosmetic surgery, however this may not be the case if someone gets previously unplanned cosmetic surgery while the divorce is going on.  In that case, the other spouse could argue that the cosmetic surgery debt was incurred through unilateral action, it was not necessary and it only benefits the spouse that got the surgery and therefore it should be that spouse's separate debt and their sole responsibility.

This blog was written to generally address how the courts in Michigan will handle medical bills or debts in a divorce in Michigan.  If you have questions about your own future and a potential divorce or separation, please do not hesitate to contact us to schedule a consultation by clicking on this link or calling our office at (248) 608-4123.