Dear Carolyn: My ex and I share the children fifty-fifty. We have three children. I make approximately $25,000 more than the other parent. I pay child support even though I have them half the time. Our child support order says nothing about who gets the dependency exemptions, and I get…
Articles Posted in Child support
I pay for my children, so why don’t I get the tax benefit?
Dear Carolyn, It is tax time. I am divorced and have two children. I pay $2000 per month in child support, and my ex (the mother) doesn’t even work. She will not give me the dependency exemptions for the children. The judge didn’t give them to me either. They live…
Does My Ex Have to Help Pay for Our Daughter’s Prom Dress?
Dear Carolyn, Prom is coming up, and my daughter is a senior. I want her to have a nice dress for prom, but her father will not help pay for the dress. I receive $622 per month child support pursuant to a child support order, and our daughter lives mostly…
Cross-Appeals: Timing is Everything (Slaughter v. Slaughter)
Jennifer A. Crissman, AttorneyTiming, as they say, is everything, and if you are appealing an Order in North Carolina, this is particularly true. Slaughter v. Slaughter, No. COA16-1153 was decided by the North Carolina Court of Appeals on July 18, 2017. While there were multiple issues on appeal, the issue that sticks out…
“To Pay or Not to Pay” (New v. New)
At the heart of many family law related disputes lie arguably the most difficult decisions regarding the children and their futures. At times it may seem unlikely that individuals in the midst of a divorce will ever agree on anything; fortunately, ensuring that any children involved receive a quality education…
Child support – College issues and IRS questions
Dear Carolyn, My daughter just graduated from high school, and she is college bound. Her father and I divorced three years ago. Her father paid child support, but I understand child support is ending now as she is already 18. I thought her father would surely pay (or at least…
Alimony is Gender Neutral!
Dear Carolyn, I am thinking about separating from my wife of 10 years. She is a doctor and makes a lot more money than me. I am a school teacher and make extra money coaching, but she still makes a lot more than me. Neither of us are having an…
When Death is not the end, the IRS steps in: Part 2 of 2
Anderson v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2016-47, 2016 WL 976816 (2016) Facts: An Alabama court entered a pretrial order in a divorce case, requiring both parties to “[m]aintain status quo as to payment of house note or rent, utilities, food, necessities, fixed credit obligations, ” 2016 WL 976816, at *1. After…
Dot Your I’s and Cross Your T’s: the IRS is a Tough Grader, Especially for Dependency Exemptions and Child Tax Credits (McBride v. Comm’r)
By: Dana M. Horlick, Attorney, Woodruff Family Law GroupMcBride v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2015-6, 2015 WL 393011 (2015) (a) Facts: The taxpayer, his grown son and daughter, and his daughter’s child all lived in the same household. On her federal tax return, the daughter claimed an exemption for her child. On his federal tax return, the taxpayer claimed dependency…
A Lost Alimony Deduction by Linking to Child Support
Watch out for those hurried, last minute North Carolina agreements that link alimony and child support termination; you could get an unintended tax consequence and the loss of the tax deduction. While the Johnson case, discussed herein, is not a North Carolina case, it could be. Guys and gals, you…