Daycare payment issues

[Luving StepMom]

I'm going to try to make a long story as short as possible... DH and BM have joint legal, BM is the primary guardian. BM enrolled SS in a daycare that DH did not agree with, mostly because the daycare refused to give DH any information about his son - how he was doing etc.  DH lived 90 miles away from SS and we did not get any info from BM about SS so he relied on daycare, etc in the past to inform him about behavior, etc.  Daycare stated because his name was not on the "enrollment papers" that they could give him no info, even when DH offered to show them the divorce decree which states he has joint custody (he first tried to be nice but they were not cooperative).  In the decree DH also had daycare seperated from child support because BM has had issues with not paying daycare, so DH is to pay his 62% portion directly to the daycare.  BM ended up agreeing to switch daycares mostly because DH wrote her a letter and said that he was not going to pay for a daycare that did not foster a relationship between him and SS (in addition to the fact that BM owes DH over $600 in past due abatements and daycare fees he has overpaid).  He said he would begin paying once that amount was caught up.  He also wrote the daycare a letter explaining the reasons he was not paying and that since his name was nowhere on the account they should seek BM for any payments.   BM switched daycares about 4 months ago and now DH gets a "bill" from the daycare stating he owes them $400 for past due services on the account he was enrolled in.  What the heck?  His signiture is no where on that account, and he clearly made them aware of the situation in numerous letters.  Is this legal - can they go after him when his name was not on the account?  We think BM went back at the end and added his name, and gave the daycare permission to bill him because he has never been billed or given any communication from the daycare.  He has always paid his portion in full 30 days in advance.  Any advice??   Thanks so much.... it is truly appreciated.

[justme73]

fyi... you need to read the Board Rules in the 'Updated Notice' post.. which is the first in this message board.
this will give you guidelines on how to post messages for Socrateaser.
it is very important to follow the guidelines to make things easier for him to respond to your message.
:-)

[Luving StepMom]

Ooops - thanks for the tip!

I'll try again:


DH and BM currently have joint legal, BM is the primary guardian. BM enrolled SS in a daycare that DH did not support, mostly because the daycare refused to give DH any information about his son - how he was doing etc. We lived 90 miles away from SS and we did not get any info from BM about SS so he relied on daycare, school, etc in the past to inform him about behavior, etc.

The daycare director told DH because his name was not on the "enrollment papers" that they could give him no info, even when DH offered to show them the divorce decree which states he has joint custody (he first tried to be nice but they were not cooperative). In the decree DH also had daycare seperated from child support because BM has had issues with not paying daycare, so it is ordered for DH to pay his 62% portion directly to the daycare.

BM ended up agreeing to switch daycares mostly because DH wrote her a letter and said that he was not going to pay for a daycare that did not foster a relationship between him and SS (in addition to the fact that BM owes DH over $600 in past due abatements and daycare fees he has overpaid). He said he would begin paying once that amount she owed DH was caught up, although he still did not agree with the choice of daycare. He also wrote the daycare a letter explaining the reasons he was not paying and that since his name was nowhere on the account they should seek BM for any payments.

BM switched daycares about 4 months ago and now DH gets a "bill" from the daycare stating he owes them $400 for past due services on the account he was enrolled in. His signiture is no where on that account, and he clearly made them aware of the situation in numerous letters.  We think BM went back at the end and added his name, and gave the daycare permission to bill him because he has never been billed or given any communication from the daycare. He has always paid his portion in full 30 days in advance.

My main questions are:  
1.  Is this legal - can they go after him when his name was not on the account?  
2.  Any advice??

We realize she could take him to court for contempt (because the orders state he is to pay) however if that happens we can also prove she is in contempt and would owe us more than the past due daycare amounts. She has HUGE financial problems and has many judgements already against her, so although we recognize it was probably not right to do, DH felt it was the only option.  The state is South Dakota.

Thanks so much for the help.... it is truly appreciated.

[Luving StepMom]

I'm going to try to make a long story as short as possible... DH and BM have joint legal, BM is the primary guardian. BM enrolled SS in a daycare that DH did not agree with, mostly because the daycare refused to give DH any information about his son - how he was doing etc.  DH lived 90 miles away from SS and we did not get any info from BM about SS so he relied on daycare, etc in the past to inform him about behavior, etc.  Daycare stated because his name was not on the "enrollment papers" that they could give him no info, even when DH offered to show them the divorce decree which states he has joint custody (he first tried to be nice but they were not cooperative).  In the decree DH also had daycare seperated from child support because BM has had issues with not paying daycare, so DH is to pay his 62% portion directly to the daycare.  BM ended up agreeing to switch daycares mostly because DH wrote her a letter and said that he was not going to pay for a daycare that did not foster a relationship between him and SS (in addition to the fact that BM owes DH over $600 in past due abatements and daycare fees he has overpaid).  He said he would begin paying once that amount was caught up.  He also wrote the daycare a letter explaining the reasons he was not paying and that since his name was nowhere on the account they should seek BM for any payments.   BM switched daycares about 4 months ago and now DH gets a "bill" from the daycare stating he owes them $400 for past due services on the account he was enrolled in.  What the heck?  His signiture is no where on that account, and he clearly made them aware of the situation in numerous letters.  Is this legal - can they go after him when his name was not on the account?  We think BM went back at the end and added his name, and gave the daycare permission to bill him because he has never been billed or given any communication from the daycare.  He has always paid his portion in full 30 days in advance.  Any advice??   Thanks so much.... it is truly appreciated.

[justme73]

fyi... you need to read the Board Rules in the 'Updated Notice' post.. which is the first in this message board.
this will give you guidelines on how to post messages for Socrateaser.
it is very important to follow the guidelines to make things easier for him to respond to your message.
:-)

[Luving StepMom]

Ooops - thanks for the tip!

I'll try again:


DH and BM currently have joint legal, BM is the primary guardian. BM enrolled SS in a daycare that DH did not support, mostly because the daycare refused to give DH any information about his son - how he was doing etc. We lived 90 miles away from SS and we did not get any info from BM about SS so he relied on daycare, school, etc in the past to inform him about behavior, etc.

The daycare director told DH because his name was not on the "enrollment papers" that they could give him no info, even when DH offered to show them the divorce decree which states he has joint custody (he first tried to be nice but they were not cooperative). In the decree DH also had daycare seperated from child support because BM has had issues with not paying daycare, so it is ordered for DH to pay his 62% portion directly to the daycare.

BM ended up agreeing to switch daycares mostly because DH wrote her a letter and said that he was not going to pay for a daycare that did not foster a relationship between him and SS (in addition to the fact that BM owes DH over $600 in past due abatements and daycare fees he has overpaid). He said he would begin paying once that amount she owed DH was caught up, although he still did not agree with the choice of daycare. He also wrote the daycare a letter explaining the reasons he was not paying and that since his name was nowhere on the account they should seek BM for any payments.

BM switched daycares about 4 months ago and now DH gets a "bill" from the daycare stating he owes them $400 for past due services on the account he was enrolled in. His signiture is no where on that account, and he clearly made them aware of the situation in numerous letters.  We think BM went back at the end and added his name, and gave the daycare permission to bill him because he has never been billed or given any communication from the daycare. He has always paid his portion in full 30 days in advance.

My main questions are:  
1.  Is this legal - can they go after him when his name was not on the account?  
2.  Any advice??

We realize she could take him to court for contempt (because the orders state he is to pay) however if that happens we can also prove she is in contempt and would owe us more than the past due daycare amounts. She has HUGE financial problems and has many judgements already against her, so although we recognize it was probably not right to do, DH felt it was the only option.  The state is South Dakota.

Thanks so much for the help.... it is truly appreciated.

[socrateaser]

>My main questions are:  
>1.  Is this legal - can they go after him when his name was
>not on the account?  

The daycare cannot touch you, but the BM may be able to force you to reimburse her. I don't have enough facts, yet. Please post the EXACT text of the court orders re daycare, AND the EXACT text re legal custody.

[Luving StepMom]

Thanks Soc -

Divorce decree states "that the parties shall share joint custody of the minor child, with physical care and custody to remain with" BM.

Daycare:
"The Plaintiff and Defendant shall each be responsible for their pro rata share of said daycare expense.  Specifically Plaintiff (BM) is responsible for 38% and Defendant (DH) is responsible for 62%."

We have talked with our atty and he said that she (BM) can hold us in contempt, but if she does that she is also in contempt for monies owed to us for daycare expenses we incurred during our extended summer visitation that she did not pay for.  

Atty says that the daycare can't legally go after us - specifically DH - because his name isn't on the account...but we have had some issues with him and I just wanted a second professional opinion.

Thanks again!