
There are three ways to collect unpaid medical bills, unpaid daycare bills and changes to child support, those methods are: CIVIL CONTEMPT; CRIMINAL CONTEMPT and MOTION FOR PARTIAL JUDGMENT IN A SUM CERTAIN. You can think of a Motion for partial judgment in a sum certain as a motion for accounting all the medical bills, daycare expenses, insurance payment into a lump sum judgment.
For information regarding Civil and Criminal Contempt you can read the 2014 blog post here.
MOTION FOR PARTIAL JUDGMENT. or Motion for Accounting is the attempt is to get an order which states the total amount due through a certain date. At the time that the Decree of Divorce or Decree of Paternity was done, no one knew how much the daycare expenses or medical expenses would be in total, so the language in the Decree would say something like "father shall pay 65% and mother shall pay 35%."
EASIER THAN CONTEMPT. Motion for partial judgment for a sum certain, is easier than a motion for contempt, as a judge is more likely to allow you to attach your receipts to your motion and get a judgment, rather than the complexities of and formalities of contempt, but contempt can put someone in jail, award attorney fees or fine them for non-compliance.
SEPARATE FROM CHILD SUPPORT. Medical expenses, medical insurance premiums, daycare expenses, are separate from child support and are often not included in child support. Often one parent has paid those expenses without the other's contribution you can file a motion for these amounts.
CONTEMPT. It is generally a separate action from contempt.
SEND INVOICES WHEN RECEIVED. Judges get grumpy when you hang on to receipts and then file a motion for a large amount without having sent them to the other party to pay in a reasonable time after you received them. The invoices should be forwarded to the other party within a reasonable time from when they were received. In fact Judge Haemmerle has been including this paragraph in her orders "Parties may not hoard medical bills to untimely submit to the other demanding payment of multiple billings that have accumulated over a period of time, but should exchange them as they are received.”
IF MORE THAN $500 COST TO OTHER PARTY NEED CONSENT IN WRITING. The family law rules require written consent before incurring expensive health care expenses. "Any claimed health care expense for the children, whether or not covered by insurance, which would result in an actual out-of-pocket expense to the other parent of over $500 for the course of treatment, must be approved in advance, in writing, by both parents or by prior court order. Relief may be granted by the Court for failure to comply under extraordinary circumstances, and the Court may in its discretion apportion the incurred expense in some percentage other than that in the existing support order, and in so doing, may consider whether consent was unreasonably requested or withheld." IRFLP 126 H.4.b.
COLLECTION. The Motion for Partial Judgment in a Sum Certain, takes the percentages that each parent owed for daycare or medical expenses and allows you to get a lump sum judgment for those amounts. Once you have the lump sum judgment you can collect the amount as a normal creditor would or you can add the amount to child support arrears. Normal collection methods are generally wage withholding or a lien on an asset, which is very difficult.
USES for MOTION FOR PARTIAL JUDGMENT IN A SUM CERTAIN.
- Back Child Support
- Child Care Expenses
- Health Insurance Premium (changes to it or switch from Medicaid to employer)
- Health Care Expenses can be (medical, dental, orthodontist, special education, psychological, addiction treatment)
- Continuing Support (when first child turns 18 and they kept taking the same amount as for two kids)
- Wrong parent declared a child on their taxes (this would be to reconcile the amount by getting a judgment for the benefit they gained by not following the Decree)
- Spousal Maintenance, Alimony, Spousal Support
SELF HELP FORM. There used to be a self help form to collect the unpaid medical expenses, daycare expenses etc. That form was in this format:
Full Name of Party Filing this Document
Mailing Address (Street or Post Office Box)
City, State and Zip Code
Telephone Number
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE ____________________ JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF THE
STATE OF IDAHO, IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF _____________________
, )
Plaintiff, ) Case No.
vs. )
) MOTION AND AFFIDAVIT FOR
, ) ENTRY OF PARTIAL JUDGMENT IN A
Defendant. ) SUM CERTAIN
)
STATE OF IDAHO )
: ss
County of __________________)
To obtain a partial judgment in a sum certain, I swear under oath:
[ ] Section One: Health Care or Work-related Child Care Expenses.
1. The Order/Decree in this case provides for a sharing of [ ] health care expenses not paid by insurance, and/or [ ] work-related child care costs, in the following percentages: _______% to be paid by father and ______% to be paid by mother.
2. I have paid the total sum of [ ] $______________ in medical expenses and/or [ ] in work-related child care costs and, despite having submitted proof of payment to the other parent, I have not been reimbursed.
3. (name) ____________________________ owes me the sum of $___________ for his/her portion of health care expenses not paid by insurance or work-related child care expenses incurred to (date), _____________________, and a partial judgment should be entered against him/her in that amount.
[ ] Section Two: Payments to Creditors.
1. The Order/Decree in this case provides for the payment of the following account/s by my former spouse: .
2. I have paid the total sum of $______________ for this/these accounts and, despite having submitted proof of payment to my former spouse, I have not been reimbursed.
3. (name) ____________________________ owes me the sum of $___________ for his/her portion of creditor payments made by me to ____________________ (date), and a partial judgment should be entered against him/her.
[ ] Section Three. Request for Partial Judgment.
I ask that Partial Judgment be entered against (other party’s name) ________________________ in favor of (your name) ____________________________in the amount of $________________, for
[ ] health care expenses [ ] work-related child care costs [ ] payments to creditors.
[ ] This Partial Judgment should be collected through Idaho Health and Welfare, Child Support Receipting. I have attached copies of receipts reflecting the above amounts, which are true and correct amounts to the best of my knowledge and belief. (Attach receipts and/or any other documentation used to verify the amount requested.)
Date:
Signature
SUBSCRIBED and SWORN to before me this _____ day of , 20____.
Notary Public for
Residing at
Commission Expires: