What can I do about the dentist bill my ex stuck me with?
Q. I will be taking my ex husband to small claims court next week. Our divorce was final in March - I did receive a settlement amount which was just for him buying me out of our house. I did not include any credit cards, separation of property or any of the nitty gritty. However, we did have a dentist bill of about $4,000.00. My dentist told me I am responsible for the entire amount of the bill, because all the work was done under my insurance. My divorce lawyer told me that was not true. I tried to get the money from him for this bill before the divorce papers were signed - but he and his lawyer told me they would not entertain the idea of giving me half of this money. My lawyer in return told me to sign the papers and take him to small claims court. I have an itemized bill from the dentist stating how much money my dental work was and how much his was. I am asking him to pay me back for the amount of money his dental work totaled. Do you think I have a chance of getting this money - it's about $2,600?
A. I'm going to try to break this down a couple of ways. First, if you -- just you -- go to the dentist, you owe him for work he does. That's true, whether you have insurance or not, and that's because, whether your insurance agrees to pay or not, someone's got to pay, and that someone is you, because you had the work done. Same for your husband. If he goes to the dentist, he owes for work done on his mouth. Second, if you -- as a married person -- go to the dentist, the same thing is true. However, in some circumstances, your spouse can be liable for debts jointly incurred (house, car, or an agreement to pay for your bills are examples of such situations.)
Now, in your case, it sounds like the dentist did work on you, and then did work on your husband. Simply put, you each owe for your own work. Now, if your insurance didn't pay, but should have, you may have a claim against them, but you each still owe for the services rendered for each of you.
Now, if you paid for your husband's work, you may have a claim against him, especially if you were divorced at the time. (If you were still married, it's possible that you could be considered jointly liable for some of his debts, depending on a number of things, including your dentist's payment agreement (that's one of those papers you filled out when you first became a patient) and your State's laws. But that's a separate question.)
This latter possibility explains why the dentist believed that you were liable for the bill. However, your husband still has an obligation to reimburse you for bills you paid on his behalf -- especially if you're now divorced. So, to answer your question, based on what you've told me, it seems like you should have a reasonable chance of success in court. However, a lot depends on when the work was done, what agreement you had with the dentist, and whether you have actually paid the amount due for your husband's work. Good luck.
Oh, by the way, off the top of my head, it does seem odd that this bill was not resolved as part of the divorce. The fact that it wasn't could depend on a number of things, including when it was incurred, the amount of the bill, the status of the marriage at the time of the dental work, and so on. However, if the bill is still not resolved, and it was incurred during the marriage, it may be possible to file a Motion in the family court to have the bill addressed. Of course, the cost of chasing after a $2,600 bill might be far more expensive that the amount you're looking for, so you'd want to consider that before making any such motion.
A. I'm going to try to break this down a couple of ways. First, if you -- just you -- go to the dentist, you owe him for work he does. That's true, whether you have insurance or not, and that's because, whether your insurance agrees to pay or not, someone's got to pay, and that someone is you, because you had the work done. Same for your husband. If he goes to the dentist, he owes for work done on his mouth. Second, if you -- as a married person -- go to the dentist, the same thing is true. However, in some circumstances, your spouse can be liable for debts jointly incurred (house, car, or an agreement to pay for your bills are examples of such situations.)
Now, in your case, it sounds like the dentist did work on you, and then did work on your husband. Simply put, you each owe for your own work. Now, if your insurance didn't pay, but should have, you may have a claim against them, but you each still owe for the services rendered for each of you.
Now, if you paid for your husband's work, you may have a claim against him, especially if you were divorced at the time. (If you were still married, it's possible that you could be considered jointly liable for some of his debts, depending on a number of things, including your dentist's payment agreement (that's one of those papers you filled out when you first became a patient) and your State's laws. But that's a separate question.)
This latter possibility explains why the dentist believed that you were liable for the bill. However, your husband still has an obligation to reimburse you for bills you paid on his behalf -- especially if you're now divorced. So, to answer your question, based on what you've told me, it seems like you should have a reasonable chance of success in court. However, a lot depends on when the work was done, what agreement you had with the dentist, and whether you have actually paid the amount due for your husband's work. Good luck.
Oh, by the way, off the top of my head, it does seem odd that this bill was not resolved as part of the divorce. The fact that it wasn't could depend on a number of things, including when it was incurred, the amount of the bill, the status of the marriage at the time of the dental work, and so on. However, if the bill is still not resolved, and it was incurred during the marriage, it may be possible to file a Motion in the family court to have the bill addressed. Of course, the cost of chasing after a $2,600 bill might be far more expensive that the amount you're looking for, so you'd want to consider that before making any such motion.
posted by David Kendall at
7:03 PM
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