Exwife on Disability

[daddenied]

What is the name of your state? CA

My ex-wife is currently on disability. Currently, her disability checks are exactly what I bring home net pay after my wages are attached for child support, approximately $1300.00 a month. Once she returns back to work, her income will double from this amount. She receives approximately this same amount of money each month for CS from me through wage attachment. She also received approximately $6000.00 tax refund, due to the fact that she refuses to allow me to claim 2 of our 4 children. This is just a background to show you what our monies look like.

We are currently awaiting a court date in about 3 months, as I filed an OSC to modify visitation and support, but I wonder if the courts ever consider the NCP's ability to live when they order the CS amount? I ask this because after rent and utilities ($800) and that is for a shoe box of a studio I live in, with utilities included except phone, and car and insurance ($450.00), gas at about $200/mo, I am left with no more than $50 for everything else. It is on maxed out credit cards, the Grace of God and money borrowed from family and friends that I make it through the month. I must borrow money to visit with my children. If I have no money to visit my children (who my ex moved away from me -5 hours away) how do the courts expect me to visit with them and keep my percentage from being decreased? Do I have a chance in asking the courts to allow me the exemptions of 2 of my children? Aren't parents allowed credit only for 2 children anyway?

 

[rmet4nzkx]

You really need to work with your attorney, on your other thread you explain the child abduction, this should really all be combined into 1 thread since you didn't indicate in your other thread that she moved away. Is the court of jurisdiciton in your county? In addition to the child abduction charges you can file for custody and modification of child support and visitation due to her interfering with your visitation. These are very complicated issues and you really need to make sure you make the child abduction reports, your attorney can't do that, but that your attorney do their part, if not you need to find an attorney that specializes in these issues, custody and moveaway/parental child abduction. There is one caveat to this, If there is any history within the last 5 years of domestic violence, this could get very complicated, as California law allows moveaway for this reason.

Has the judge ordered who gets the deductions? Also if she is on disability, she doesn't need the deductions.

 

[daddenied]

Please explain

You really need to work with your attorney, on your other thread you explain the child abduction, this should really all be combined into 1 thread since you didn't indicate in your other thread that she moved away. Is the court of jurisdiciton in your county? In addition to the child abduction charges you can file for custody and modification of child support and visitation due to her interfering with your visitation. These are very complicated issues and you really need to make sure you make the child abduction reports, your attorney can't do that, but that your attorney do their part, if not you need to find an attorney that specializes in these issues, custody and moveaway/parental child abduction. There is one caveat to this, If there is any history within the last 5 years of domestic violence, this could get very complicated, as California law allows moveaway for this reason.

Has the judge ordered who gets the deductions? Also if she is on disability, she doesn't need the deductions.

Thank you. I am new to this forum, and thought I could not ask questions that were categorized all in one area. My attorney tells me to be consistent with the reports and that he can follow up after I report so I am doing this. And, there never has been domestic violence in our history together. What do you mean when you say, if she os on disability she doesn't need the deductions? Should I ask my attorney? Thanks!

 

[rmet4nzkx]

Sorry I couldn't get into the forum all day.
You are doing the right thing, making the missing persons reports to the police each and everytime she fails to meet you or when she isn't at her residence. What about telephone? School? Has she moved? Have you contacted relatives? Neighbors? Report it to both police departments and to the DA's office for child abductions, What is your county? Your attorney can make the proper motions of contempt etc. It is good that there is no history of domestic violence, if there was it would be a problem, often the abducting parent will make a false report to be able to leave with the children. DIsability payments have no tax consequence, therefore you will ask your attorney to petition the court for many things including that you get the tax deductions. Have you contacted the DA's office yet?

 

[daddenied]

More questions

Sorry I couldn't get into the forum all day.
You are doing the right thing, making the missing persons reports to the police each and everytime she fails to meet you or when she isn't at her residence. What about telephone? School? Has she moved? Have you contacted relatives? Neighbors? Report it to both police departments and to the DA's office for child abductions, What is your county? Your attorney can make the proper motions of contempt etc. It is good that there is no history of domestic violence, if there was it would be a problem, often the abducting parent will make a false report to be able to leave with the children. DIsability payments have no tax consequence, therefore you will ask your attorney to petition the court for many things including that you get the tax deductions. Have you contacted the DA's office yet?

That is my plan. Their phone number is still the same...I call every day, and in the last 10 days have been able to leave 1 message only...the machine is either off or she is on the Internet, which she spends a lot of her free time on. I have contacted the schools my children attend, and only one school (there are 3) has sent me report cards. The others have ignored my request even after furnishing them with my divorce decree showing I share joint and legal custody of them. There is no domestic violence, but recently she has started stating in correspondence that she felt she was mentally and verbally abused while married with me, etc...etc...I believe a ploy to keep the kids away from me...when we got divorced, it was very amicable...I did not want it, for the kids sake, but she did...we did not fight, we did not argue, etc...I believe that she is now just being ugly after feeling as if I have completely moved on with my life, in a serious relationship now, a person with whom my children have spent time with as well as her family. I wasn't sure if I could ask for the children for tax purposes, but I definitely will. Our children are between 9 and 15 and I feel as if she has told them many untruths between visits with me and fear they will not want to see me. What can I do? All I want is to have more time with them and to have their mother stop the madness...I want her to co-parent with me and allow me to have a healthy relationship with them without her interference and obstacles. I appreciate your advice.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? CA

My ex-wife is currently on disability. Currently, her disability checks are exactly what I bring home net pay after my wages are attached for child support, approximately $1300.00 a month. Once she returns back to work, her income will double from this amount. She receives approximately this same amount of money each month for CS from me through wage attachment. She also received approximately $6000.00 tax refund, due to the fact that she refuses to allow me to claim 2 of our 4 children. This is just a background to show you what our monies look like.

We are currently awaiting a court date in about 3 months, as I filed an OSC to modify visitation and support, but I wonder if the courts ever consider the NCP's ability to live when they order the CS amount? I ask this because after rent and utilities ($800) and that is for a shoe box of a studio I live in, with utilities included except phone, and car and insurance ($450.00), gas at about $200/mo, I am left with no more than $50 for everything else. It is on maxed out credit cards, the Grace of God and money borrowed from family and friends that I make it through the month. I must borrow money to visit with my children. If I have no money to visit my children (who my ex moved away from me -5 hours away) how do the courts expect me to visit with them and keep my percentage from being decreased? Do I have a chance in asking the courts to allow me the exemptions of 2 of my children? Aren't parents allowed credit only for 2 children anyway?

I am going to address an issue with you that I doubt that anyone else will address....and that is the tax issue.....because you made a statement that raises a BIG RED FLAG with me. (as an accountant and tax preparer)

The only tax benefit that is limited to two children is Earned Income Credit (EIC). EIC is also the only tax benefit that gives low/lower income parents very large refunds.

At this point, even if you were able to claim two of your children, you WOULD NOT be eligible for EIC because they don't live with you more than 50% of the time. If the two of you had 50/50 custody NEITHER of you would be eligible for EIC because the children would live with neither of you more than 50% of the time.

If mom is relatively low income you are probably correct that that having more than two dependents doesn't particularly help her tax-wise. However if you believe that claiming two of the kids would give you head of household status or EIC you are incorrect. Certainly having the exemptions and some child tax credit (you wouldn't get the full credit) would help you....but you wouldn't be looking at the kind of refunds I think you believe that you would recieve.

 

[daddenied]

Taxes

I am going to address an issue with you that I doubt that anyone else will address....and that is the tax issue.....because you made a statement that raises a BIG RED FLAG with me. (as an accountant and tax preparer)

The only tax benefit that is limited to two children is Earned Income Credit (EIC). EIC is also the only tax benefit that gives low/lower income parents very large refunds.

At this point, even if you were able to claim two of your children, you WOULD NOT be eligible for EIC because they don't live with you more than 50% of the time. If the two of you had 50/50 custody NEITHER of you would be eligible for EIC because the children would live with neither of you more than 50% of the time.

If mom is relatively low income you are probably correct that that having more than two dependents doesn't particularly help her tax-wise. However if you believe that claiming two of the kids would give you head of household status or EIC you are incorrect. Certainly having the exemptions and some child tax credit (you wouldn't get the full credit) would help you....but you wouldn't be looking at the kind of refunds I think you believe that you would recieve.

Thank you for bringing this up. I am actually NOT looking for refund. I hope I can type this much information without getting in trouble on this forum. We divorced at the end of 2002. She moved out of my place in Apr. 2003, and although they all lived with me through the year, she filed taxes for 2002 early without my knowledge and collected a huge tax refund. When I filed and tried to claim two kids, which we had originally verbally agreed upon, I was unable to do this, therefore, I ended up owing about $2500.00 in 2002 taxes. I asked her to amend and she said she had every right to do this. For the tax year 2003, I filed again in Mar. 2004 and again found that she had claimed all 4 children...I now owed about $1800 in taxes. I have not filed yet this year, but feel as if I will owe again. I have not lowered my exemptions to 1 until now, thinking that she would amend and keep her word of allowing me to claim 2 of the children. I in no way am asking for the EIC or Head of Household, just that I break even at tax time or not have to owe so much. I have tried to explain to her that my claiming the 2 children will not hurt her at all, but to no avail. Thank you.

 

[daddenied]

Other issues

You really need to work with your attorney, on your other thread you explain the child abduction, this should really all be combined into 1 thread since you didn't indicate in your other thread that she moved away. Is the court of jurisdiciton in your county?

Should I ask questions pertaining other issues involved with this same case in this area or should I go to specific topic forums to post? Such as questions regarding remarrying, social security benefits (I am told that because I was married 12 years-over 10, my ex-wife will collect my social security...is this the same with my retirement? Please let me know so I do not ask questions in the wrong area. Thanks!