Deadbeat Mom and Tax question

[Mark Williams]

I just inadvertantly found out that my ex-wife has not held a job for the last 3 years. She has been living off my child support and her Mothers SS checks. She calls me up needing money for school clothes. She is already getting 20% more than what was court ordered , plus the increases in health insurance cost's that I have not asked relief from. So now she is living solely off my childs support $. I dont want to make things harder on my Daughter, but I sure dont want to help the ex either. Since she has not worked for the last 3 years my daughter has not been claimed as a deduction. Could I get an amended tax return for the last 3 years when I file this coming Jan.? We have joint legal custody and the ex has primary physical custody. I wish I could just get the support stopped and provide directly to my Daughters needs and skip the middle slug :grumpy:

Any tax advice ?

 

[Matt Shade]

I can't offer any advice, but wanted to say good luck getting it all straightened out.
Its really sad how some people think everyone else should provide for them. Especialy money thats supposed to be for the good of your daughter

 

[Gollnick]

Ammending a tax return is no problem assuming you still have all your records, which you should.

The money you send in child support is just that, CHILD support, not ex-wife support. She is supposed to be contributing to the child's welfare financially too and certainly not living herself off of the child support money. By not contributing financially to the child's wellbeing and by robbing the child's wellbeing by using some of the child support money you send and the government provides for herself, she is neglecting the child. Unemployment happens. But three years of it is pretty clearly not just being temporarily between jobs. You should speak to a family law attorney about reclaiming the child yourself.

In the mean time, cut back your monetary support to the court-ordered level and send the additional 20% in the form of material support directly for your daughter. For example, if she needs new cloths, say "send me a list and I'll send you the cloths." Or say, "I won't send you any money, but I'd be happy to take her shopping myself." You can even get gift cards from national retailers such as Target and send those.

 

[ld57]

Well, you probably need to talk to a local tax preparer, lawyer, CPA, etc., but...
Things to consider:
1) Are you SURE she hasn't worked/filed a return in the past 3 years? If she has, and has filed a return using your daughter, it might affect your ability to claim her.
2) Does the divorce agreement make any references to who gets to claim her on the tax return? Has a Form 8332 been filed (IRS Release of Claim of Exemption for Child of Divorced/Separated Parents)?
3) Are the SS checks greater than your child support payments? Is your x-wife receiving any money or assistance (NOT welfare, WICS, Medicaid, etc.) that might count toward the child's support? Where is the child living now, whose home? Such things as the provision of a "roof" over the child's head can count towards who provides the most support.
3) Generally, the custodial parent (or if the child has lived with 1 parent more than 6 months) gets the deduction, because they usually provide over half the support. Under the circumstances, if you can prove you have provided over half her support you should be able to file amended returns and claim her.
4) Finally... How's your own tax situation? Not being nosy, but filing to amend a return might cause additional scrutiny into the entire return. If you have some untaxed skeletons in your closet you might keep this in mind...

 

[Danbo]

Been there, done that. A few years ago, when I was paying child support, I thought I was doing the right thing by paying the money directly to my Son's Mother. By paying her directly, she was getting the money a few weeks earlier, which I thought was a good idea. I thought I was helping them, and maybe I was. But, it sure didn't help me. When tax time came around, the court thought that I was not paying my child support. They garnished my income tax refund one year. Because I didn't send the money through the Child Support office, there was no record of my paying it. Cost me a refund check of about $1400 for me being nice(and stupid).

This also put me into a rather difficult situation with my Wife. She wanted that money back, and wanted me to show them all the cancelled checks that I had paid to the ex. Of course, if I provided all these cancelled checks to them, the ex would probably go to jail, since she was not declaring my child support to the welfare people, and was collecting money from them also. It was either eat the money(and listen to my Wife bitch) or send my Son's Mother to jail. It was a rather costly lesson learned. Do not circumvent the Child Support process! Pay the court, and let them dole it out to your ex.

 

[Mark Williams]

Well the kicker seems to be that the ex's mother has been placed in assisted living and has laid claim to her SS check. That's why the sudden need for more money. My Daughter is a hoot. She's been telling me how they are redecorating her Gramma's old bedrood in monkey decor now that she's not living there. I asked the ex and she says that my daughter has not been claimed and that She (ex) has not filed any taxes since no income. I guess I had better make an appointment with a lawyer to make sure i'm not screwing myself.