Child Dependency Exemption

[sparkey]

I'm hoping someone can advise me. Divorced with joint custody. One son 28 is on his own, One son is 20 and in college, other son will be 18 in Sept and will be a Sr. in HS.

Original parenting plan (2001) granted tax exemptions to Ex husband because he has physical custody and carried health insurance for children at that time because I wasn't yet employed. Order indicates that could change based on circumstances.
Ex became disabled in 2004 and I began insuring the children though we didn't have the order modified. I expected that he would be reasonable and allow me to claim one of the boys on my taxes. To date he has refused to allow me to claim either child for income tax purposes because "the order says he can".

I'm still paying for all insurance, have co-signed on our oldest (28) student loans when his father became disabled and refused to continue to pay his tuition and pay 1/2 of all tuition and board for our son in college and intend to do the same when our youngest begins college. I'm working a lot of overtime to pay all this and still pay my federal taxes. If I could claim just one of the boys that would sure help but he won't hear any of that.

If I go to court to ask for a modification allowing me to claim one child each year and that we share the exemption when only one is still in college will I be opening up a can of worms? My EX husband receives nearly $40,000 annually in SSDI. That's about my annual salary however because of overtime I probably have income of $60K. If I didn't work overtime then our incomes would match very closely.

Am I going to wind up paying more than 1/2 of the tuition to get an exemption order from the court?

 

[army judge]

Your situation is too complex and personal for you to make a financial decision based on an opinion from people (however well intentioned don't know the specifics of your personal finances) you've never met!

That said, logic tells me you might bs surprised at what a court will decide. As the old Magic 8 Ball offered, "things are looking up for you".

Talk to an attorney and see what he/she advises.

These deductions will disappear in another 2-3 years, anyway.

Common sense tells me that you're providing more than half of the support of both younger sons already.

See where I'm headed?

But, don't be stupid and base such an important decision on the babblings of some old coot you've never met.

 

[sparkey]

Your situation is too complex and personal for you to make a financial decision based on an opinion from people (however well intentioned don't know the specifics of your personal finances) you've never met!.....Talk to an attorney and see what he/she advises. But, don't be stupid and base such an important decision on the babblings of some old coot you've never met.

While I agree that my situation is both personal and complex I can tell you that my last interaction with an attorney cost me $4000 and he never showed up in court on the appointed day......The experience left me with a bad taste in my mouth so I spent several years in college to earn a paralegal degree so attorney's couldn't cheat me again.

I'd much rather rely on the opinion and experience of others who have been through it and who aren't interested solely in getting their percentage.

 

[sparkey]

I wonder if you can help me understand next steps Army Judge? I've filed my motion to modify pro se and the Ex has opted to answer also pro se. I intend to file an answer to his counter claim (he of course see's no reason to modify anything and begs that my motion be denied). In the meantime the court issued an Order for Status Conference indicating "non-evidentiary motions may be noticed for this time" I'm not familiar the term "non-evidentiary motions noticed for the same date". Can you explain?

Thank you.

 

[army judge]

Okay, Sparkey, here goes.

Generally speaking, non-evidentiary motions refer to procedurally based matters.

Does that help?

 

[army judge]

One more thing, OP, you're both pro se.

That means the judge will probably be more lenient with you guys.

Don't worry too much about getting it all down correctly, unless you believe your ex has suddenly become a pretty good jailhouse or street lawyer.

Even then, the main thing to remember is never to miss an appearance. You don't want to let the opposing party prevail because you defaulted.

 

[sparkey]

What should I expect at the hearing? Can I file my answer AND a motion to produce documents prior to the date of the hearing?

There isn't much to fight about in my opinion but the ex will never agree. I've asked that the parenting plan be modified to acknowledge that I will provide insurance and we will both pay unreimbursed medical expenses incurred while our sons are in our care. No argument there. I am asking to claim both dependent exemptions for the balance of their eligibility (2013 and 2016). It will take a court order before I he will sign the necessary IRS forms. How long do you think this could get drawn out when there is so little to discuss with the court?