Lamar Odom Medical Expenses May Fall On Khloe Kardashian, Here’s Why She May End Up Paying Millions

Khloé Kardashian may be making an effort to sever ties with Lamar Odom, but it may already be too late to avoid the financial downfall that could come from all of his medical expenses. According to IB Times, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star could be hit with some staggering medical bills for her estranged husband simply because they’re still legally married. An Entertainment Tonight segment that aired the week before Christmas touched on the staggering cost of Lamar Odom’s hospitalization, which is estimated to have already exceeded $750,000.

Shana Alex Charles, Assistant Professor at the Department of Health Science at California State University, discussed a number of healthcare costs that could be strong factors in the hefty price tag for Lamar’s hospital stay. In the state of California, a typical night in a hospital facility averages approximately $10,000 a night. But, due to the extent of Lamar Odom’s injuries and the fact that he’s in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the financial equation may be quite different for the former NBA star.

“Just your basic hospital stay usually runs about $10,000 a night,” Charles explained according to Entertainment Tonight. “Cedars-Sinai is not basic care, and [Odom’s] kind of incident is not basic, so you can just assume that it’s going to be much higher than that, maybe even as high as $30,000 to $50,000 per night, which adds up very quickly.”

However, that’s not all. Radar Online also suggests Lamar Odom may spend as much as $10 million of his $55 million fortune for the full hospital stay and treatments he’ll receive by the end of the year. But, now there’s another question looming: Will Lamar Odom really be paying the bill or will his estranged wife, Khloé Kardashian, be responsible for the staggering costs? Ryan Stearns, a family law expert in Torrance, California put things into perspective with a few daunting possibilities. Since Khloé and Lamar are still married, there is a strong possibility she could get stuck with the bill since he’s cognitively impaired.

“Since [Khloe and Lamar are] still married and these bills relating to his treatment are [considered] debt, they are going to be presumed as a family obligation,” Stearns said. “However, there are some [legal] exceptions … which provide that debts incurred while married, but for non-necessaries of life, should be the separate responsibility of the spouse that incurs the debt.”

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Stearns also highlighted the perspective he’d argue if he were representing Khloé Kardashian. Since Lamar Odom’s actions and pitfalls had nothing to do with the marriage, Khloé should not be held accountable for his debts incurred during the hospitalization. However, on the other hand, there’s a possibility the medical expenses could be seen as a “joint obligation” despite the series of events that led to Lamar’s brush with death.

“If I were representing Khloe, and [knew that] later she was going to divorce Lamar, I would argue that he’s going through this treatment as a consequence of his ‘whoring’ around,'” Stearns also said, adding: “Namely, that he developed these conditions as a result of nothing to do with their marriage, entirely separate. Then it would be up to the court to determine whether the debts are going to be his separate responsibility. Since they’re married, they’re going to look at it as what’s called a joint and several obligation of both Khloe and Lamar. They’re both equally responsible,” Stearns said.

At this point, it’s still unclear how long Lamar Odom will need rehabilitative care. However, Khloé Kardashian has revealed doctors have projected that he could make a full mental recovery in approximately two years. So, he’s definitely facing an uphill battle toward recovery, which could with an expensive price tag over the next 24 months, or possibly longer. Despite the latest rumors about Khloé Kardashian hoping to sever ties with Lamar Odom in the near future, she still insists she’ll be supportive and has no plans of giving up on him.

Do you think Khloé Kardashian should be held accountable for Lamar Odom’s hospital bills? Share your thoughts.