Julie Fowler

Nominated one of "10 Best" Attorneys for Nebraska by the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys in 2015. Winner of Michael W. Amdor Memorial Excellence in Legal Research Award.

Nebraska

Since 2007

Attorney

Law Office of Julie Fowler, PC, LLO

Current

Creighton University School of Law

J.D.

Michael W. Amdor Memorial Excellence in Legal Research Award

Fourth Judicial District, Douglas County, Nebraska

2009

Nebraska Bar Association  # 23649

Attorney

2007 - Current

Q. Is my ex responsible for the first $480 of medical expenses based on a non-modified agreement?

April 14, 2025

A: When the Court looks at enforcing the terms of a court order, the Court looks at the actual language of the Court order. While it is the standard for the custodial parent to pay the first $480 (now $250) in unreimbursed health/medical expenses, not all orders have that language. For example, many joint physical custody orders do not include the first $480/$250 language and instead the parties start sharing these expenses from the first dollar owed. Other times, the parties agree to a deviation of child support (an amount different than in the child support guidelines) so they also do something different than the first $480/$250. Thus, just because the term is common, doesn't mean that the Court will assume the language is there if it isn't actually written in the Order. If you bring an action to enforce the order, the Court generally won't enforce terms that aren't actually stated in the order.

If you want to change the terms of your order, you could file a modification action. If you believe there was an error in drafting and the order is missing an agreed-upon term, then you could try requesting the court "nunc pro tunc" the order to fix the mistake due to the scrivener's error. However, you would need some proof that the term was agreed upon and the Court may not be willing to change/add the term if you've waited too long to correct the drafting mistake. ... Read More

Q. Roommate demands more money than agreed after move-out?

April 12, 2025

A: I don't know enough about the specifics of your situation to give you specific advise. However, in general, when you agree that you owe the other party due to an agreement, it often makes sense to pay the amount that you agree that you owe. Then it is up to the other party to see if they want to pursue you for the other disputed amounts or not. Chances are, they may say that the payment is good enough and not worth the hassle of filing a small claims court action or otherwise getting the court involved. Further, if they do bring an action in small claims court for the rest, you can show the Court proof that you did make the payment that you thought was appropriate and that it was not that you were unwilling to pay your share but just that you believed you already paid what you did owe. ... Read More

Q. Can refusing my ex's visitation request lead to contempt of court given years of non-contact?

April 11, 2025

A: If you are not following the terms of the Court order, then it is possible that the other party will file a contempt and that the Court will find you in contempt.

However, even if the party files for contempt, the party requesting the contempt finding has to show that you are in willful violation of the order. If the other parent has been out of communication for many years, the Court may find that you were justified in asking for some regular phone contact first and stepped up efforts before expecting the child to go visit an absent parent. Even if a contempt is filed, the judge may instead use that as a way to order some stepped-up parenting time instead of sanctioning anyone for not following the order previously. Some judges are more strict about this than others, so what your best course of action is here really depends on the specifics of your case. ... Read More