Also known as: medical cares · health care · healthcare
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Amounts paid for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or for affecting any structure or function of the body, including related transportation and insurance costs.
Matthew Martinez stopped depositing business profits into the joint account after redirecting funds to his separate practice. Melissa Mills used a credit card to pay for her ongoing cancer treatments and related prescriptions. The provider billed Matthew directly. Because medical care qualifies as a necessary under the spousal support obligation, the court holds Matthew personally liable for the charges even without an agency relationship.
Melanie Morris receives legal custody of her niece after the parents become unavailable. The child requires surgery to correct a congenital heart defect. Melanie consults specialists, weighs risks, and authorizes the procedure along with follow-up physical therapy. Her authority to make these significant health care decisions flows directly from the grant of legal custody.
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One spouse may be held liable for necessaries purchased by the other spouse regardless of agency authority. Medical care qualifies as a necessary when it addresses the supported spouse's actual need and the supporting spouse has the ability to pay. Liability arises even in the absence of a pending divorce or separation action in some states.
Legal custody grants the right to make significant decisions regarding a child, expressly including decisions about health care. A nonparent granted legal custody may therefore authorize medical treatment, select providers, and schedule related activities without further court approval unless the decree imposes a specific limitation.
Section 213(d) defines medical care as amounts paid for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, for transportation primarily for and essential to such care, for qualified long-term-care services, and for medical care insurance.