Child Custody Article
Federal and State Tax Exemptions for Dependent Children: Who gets to claim them?
The Guidelines provide two options. The first is an agreement between the parents. Usually, this will happen when the parents come to an amicable settlement on all issues. If the parents are already struggling to compromise on other issues, do not be surprised if the opposing party will not agree to your tax dependency proposal. However, it is a possibility for an agreement to be reached. If the agreement is reached, the parents can make any plan for the tax dependency exemption. There are no requirements.
If the parties cannot agree, then the Guidelines provide a formula for determining who will claim and when they will claim. The formula is based on each parent’s proportion to the parties combined adjusted gross income. The formula also does not allow for a parent to claim more than four years in a row. Lets look at some examples to understand how the formula works.
Example 1: Dad makes about $60,000 annually. Mom makes about $40,000 annually. Their combined gross income is $100,000. Dad’s share of the income is 60%, which equates to 3/5. Mom’s share of the income is 40%, or 2/5. Thus, Dad will get to claim the minor child every 3 out of 5 years, and Mom will get to claim the child every 2 out of 5 years.
Example 2: Pretend that in the above example, the parties only have 1 child. Say they have three children now. The parents could continue the pattern as discussed above for all three children. Now if Dad’s income was 33% of the total income or 1/3 and Mom’s income was 67% or 2/3 and they have three children, they could do a similar pattern, or Dad will always claim two children, and Mom will always claim one child. There is some flexibility here.
There are a number of other examples that can come from this formula. Just remember, it depends on the proportion of the parties combined adjusted gross income. Another piece of advice is that the child support worksheets will give you a recommendation as well. So if you are not good at doing math, just take a look at the child support calculator and see what that recommendation is.
Overall, the tax dependency exemption should not be complicated nor cause conflict between the parties. This is why there are guidelines in place to settle those conflicts. However, I do recommend that if you and the other parent are capable of coming to an agreement on your own terms, it will usually be better for you both, and you will feel better about the results.
Contributing Attorney: Billie Tarascio litigates family law and domestic violence cases at Modern Law.
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QUESTIONS
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My sons father has contacted me wanting to see my 13 yr old son after no contact in 10 years. He has a bad criminal history. The last custody order 6 yrs ago said he could have supervised visits with his paternal gramma every other weekend overnight & phone contact when it coincides with my sons schedule. He didn't ever show up for ANY visits or even call. I have agreed to phone contact between them for a few weeks then supervised visits. How long should that last? He wanted to call everyday but I don't want him calling so much. Is asking him to call every other day okay? What are my options?
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My ex has full custody of our children with out my consent
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My Son is the Father to a soon to be Baby Girl due 6/26/11. The Mother of the unborn child has become abusive and Son no longer wants to Marry her. She states that she is going to leave the state and put the child up for adoption if he doesn't Marry her. What are his rights?
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I received full custody (legal making decisions) for my son but his father, who is on his birth certificate, did not have to terminate his rights. He doesn't make much effort to be in our son's life and is not allowed to have visits unless they are supervised. My husband and I want to move out of state next year, am I within my rights to take him without consent from his father? Hoping for an answer before any big plans are set in motion. Thanks in advance!
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I have a 6 month old child with a guy I used to date. We were never married. I want to know can I get full custody of our daughter. He is on the birth certificate and the notarized paternity papers. He is very unstable. He has abused me. He has been threatening me because I won't allow him to see her. I'm actually really scared. He keeps saying he wants nothing to do with her, she's not his, she can die. A bunch of hurtful things. The maybe a couple hours later he may say he's sorry and didn't mean it.But this has been ongoing for the month. He is always back and forth with his comments.
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I am trying to find information for a friend who is unable to afford a divorce/legal separation. His spouse has essentially kidnapped their son and left the state without any contact. The cost of filing for legal separation/divorce is not prohibitive, but the forms require legal assistance to fill out properly which is costly. Is there a way to petition for temporary custody order/rights without filing for legal separation to bring their son back to his home state?
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I moved from AZ to Colorado to live with my mom because of abuse. I had a child with the man that I lived with who is 2yrs old. He has filed for paternity tests and sole custody. In the suit he made some serious acqusations against my mother and father. These statements are false and in no way shape or form can be proved. Can he simply make false statements to the court with no supporting proof of these statements?
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My wife and i separated(not legally) about a year ago. She claimed she couldn't find work in Arizona. She asked for my permission to take our kids to texas for a few months to work and save money. She has sinced refused to return the kids and come back to Arizona. We both signed and had notary stamped a written agreement but she failed to honor it. She has no work currently but yet will not return our boys. Any help or council would be appreciated. I plan on filling divorce in arizona and petition shared custody in the next few days. What can i do to get my kids back?
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My Ex and I share 2 children in a 50/50 custody parenting plan. My husband and I are relocating to GA taking over his family business. and have sent our intent to relocate over to him. We received an objection back as expected. What are the next steps on our part after receiving the objection? Do courts take into consideration the children's preference of whom they would like to live with? (middle school aged) We received a consultation from a lawyer who blatantly told us that unless he was a drug addict or abuser, we would not be granted permission to move with them. Please help.
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What if I've been to prison and while I was there, my son's father took me to court and got sole legal custody, and since then has dumped my son off on his family (3 years) and has left the state? Do I have any right to do anything? He does not support our son in anyway.
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