My teenage daughter, who is in my custody, broke several teeth, including her front ones, while mucking around with friends. She was in great pain and hysterical, and terrified of what she looked like. We rushed to the dentist and she had treatment. My ‘ex’ refuses to contribute to the cost. Under our divorce agreement he is supposed to pay for half of the cost of medical treatment not covered by ordinary health insurance – subject to his consent. He said I should have asked for his consent beforehand. I replied that there was no time – and there was no real choice anyway. I did try to ring him when she was at the dentist’s but his mobile was engaged all the time and I was more concerned with giving emotional support to our daughter. Is his refusal to consent justified ?
By: דיאנה שאלתיאל•Published on: 10 May, 2022It seems not. The father’s participation in his daughter’s exceptional medical expenses is conditioned upon consent, which implies that he will be informed beforehand. An However, there are situations in which this is not possible. An emergency would fit in to this category, in which case the father’s refusal to consent afterwards would be unjustified