Look at the order does it say he has to pay all uninsured medical or a portion of it or does it say he has to pay for all usual medical expenses not covered under insurance?

In my DH’s CO it says that all medical has to be split 50/50. If the braces are not recommended by the dentist to correct actual issues then they are optional and your DH doesn’t have to pay for them. From what I understand, when it comes to non-medically necessary stuff like braces the DH has to agree with BM and therefore he has to pay half. If he doesn’t agree with an unnecessary treatment like braces then he can legally refuse to pay. I know all 3 of my skids will need braces, not for cosmetics, but because they have sever issues like teeth being completely out of line or they have too many teeth in a small mouth so teeth have to be pulled and straightened. We can’t afford braces but MIL has already agreed a long time ago to pay for all 3 of them as they reach that point.

FDH and BM did 50/50

I'm not sure about all of the details surrounding your case but we went through something similar. The divorce decree said they split all uninsured medical expenses 50/50. Almost immediately after their divorce, BM got braces for one of the kids.

She tried to make DH pay for half of it. She begged and threatened but never followed through with it because, in the end, she knew it was not a medical procedure. My insurance doesn't cover orthodontics because it is considered optional and cosmetic. I'm sure that her insurance is pretty damn similar or else she wouldn't have dropped the issue so abruptly.

exH and I do 50/50 of uncovered dental expenses. But, the insurance does cover half of orthodontics, and DD's is necessary and not for cosmetic reasons. I think if it was solely for cosmetic reasons then your DH shouldn't be expected to pay any of it, unless he agreed to skid getting braces BEFORE they were started. But, it's up to the orthodontist to determine what is, and isn't, necessary regarding the braces.

I would think (just my opinion of course)that if he was ordered to supply dental insurance, that he would be found to be at least partially responsible for the uncovered orthodontics parts of dental care. Something this costly that isn't at all covered by his plan is something that he definitely should be involved in the discussion of real necessity both with the dr and with BM. I wouldn't just whip out perhaps $5000 without conferring with the dr who referred the need and a realistic talk with BM over how to provide braces between the both of them.

It's kinda a tough spot. Do you tell the child, nope, not happening (doesn't really actually have to have them for bite purposes ect) or does DH work with BM to if there is perhaps a slight cosmetic call for them? Teeth and their looks can be a major self esteem thing. I'd look at the issue closely and then if it's decided child will get them I'd pay no more than 1/2. Kiddo has two parents. Is there anything in the CO that says since DH provides insurance that BM has to pay the first x amount? If so, this could be room to deduct that x amount from the splitting of the remaining amount.

My GS got braces last summer. DS has dental insurance that partially covers braces. BM and DS agreed to include DS's premium cost as part of DS's remaining amount due and then spilt 50/50 after the insurance pay and DS's premium cost (calculated premium monthly for 2yrs).

I'm with you on this. SD got braces over my objections because DH wanted her to have them. He never got them and needed them. SD had two teeth out of alignment way back in her mouth where you will never see them, and for that she had to get full mouth braces for several years at a cost of nearly $4000. Ridiculous.

DH and BM agreed to pay half. BM made one payment, then claimed DH agreed to pay the entire cost. Luckily, orthodontist got BM to sign a piece of paper saying she would pay half, so she was on the hook for it anyway. Man was she livid! I think they ended up turning her half over to collections.

I've often wondered this. I have SD on my insurance through work for dental & we have the mid option plan. It pays I think 50% of braces if she needs them. I feel like BM should have to pay a larger portion of the uncovered portion since she provides zero insurance for her. Or she could go purchase insurance for her, like we have.

me and my ex split the braces 50/50 after the insurance paid out on my two kids nothing was in court order we just split it and if he would of argued i would of been ticked since he does not pay me child support and i probably would of took him back to court to enforce the child support order. as far as SD goes we will pay our half whenever BM decides to take her to the orthodonist we are ready to pay today and DH told BM to take her in we we pay our 1/2 ..since SD lives with BM this is one duty she needs to do since she will be the one who has to take her to appts. just as i did with my kids.
if we decided to take SD in then i could see BM saying well you took her you pay for all of it. SD probably does need them. her teeth are not terriable but not even close to perfect either.
if she was my kid they would already be on her teeth last year at same time my youngest got his on since they are the same age. maybe BM thinks her teeth are just fine and if she does then BM knows best i guess. SMILE
my DH told SD i will gladly take you in and pay for it 100% if your mom would be willing to reduce CS in half until they are paid for.

As a former kid with goofy teeth.. I think fighting this is sucky. You had a child. If child needs/ wants braces for even self esteem reasons, pay for it. Dont want to pay for your kids, dont have kids....

BM was trying to get DH to pay for braces for SS when he was 18. Um no. I couldnt even see that he needed them. Now YSD14 yes she needed them. Her teeth were really crooked and messed up.

She just showed up one day recently and smiled at DH and said "I got braces". For her it's just as much an attention thing as it is her actually needing them.

I had braces. My baby teeth wouldn't even fall out, my adult teeth grew in behind them. I had two phases of braces.

I wore my retainer for about 2 years as directed. Then I quit one day.

Teeth are slightly crooked now. nothing like they were before, & I still get complimented on my smile, but not 'perfect' like you'd expect with braces.

Well. In our house, I paid for my bios braces (both bios) and DH paid for SD's braces. So somehow our household paid for braces on both sides. Then again, that is how it always seems to work in our household anyway. BM and XH pay nothing extra towards any of the kids ever.

Just watch the bill and don't trust the BM. Usually it's a scheme to up CS by means of add ons. In my case the BM slapped all three children in middle-class status cosmetic braces the nanosecond they turned eight. Being that all three skids were four years younger maturity-wise, it was equivalent of putting four year olds in braces--they never brushed their teeth anyways and neither the BM nor Mr. Guilty Daddy made them brush their teeth after I disengaged.

Mr. Guilty Daddy trusted the PASinator BM implicitly--to the tune of 200% of the actual cost of the braces which he (read: me) ended up paying as the BM got it rolled into an upward mod but "forgot" to tell the courts when the bill was paid to lower it back down. And BTW, I caught this error, not the two attorneys staring at the numbers! The CS Magistrate (who knows the BM personally) said "water under the bridge--the extra amount is a gift to the BM--case closed."

Our CO for SS was clear. The BioParents split any medical/dental related costs not covered by insurance. That is likely how it will work with your situation. If you don't want to try to fight this out with BM then ask for the judge to provide a clarifying statment in the CO. We had to do this a couple of times with the Sperm Clan got stupid regarding something that was not clear in the CO.

Not that Dick Head ever paid a penny of his obligation for half of uncovered med/dent expenses. He still owes us $6K and the kid aged out from under the CO 3+ years ago.

Braces weren't outlined in our decree. One sd needed them. (Really) and the other one did not but bm put them on her anyway. Husband insurance paid a portion, I want to say $5000 of each, we had to split the difference with bm for the rest.

It is hard to talk of a universal, or near universal price for dental braces. Their pricing seems to vary so greatly that any talk of such universal, or near universal pricing for them would probably be misguided. In the same dental supplies shop, it is usually possible to find some dental brace varieties that cost as much as ten times what other braces in the same store are going for.

http://jsbrowndds.com/

Don't get me frickin started! Kids teeth should be 50/50 but of course in my world it isn't. We just get the invoice emailed through. SHE IS A HAG!!!

We paid 50/50 for all of our kids too - bios and skids.