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Day Care

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martina6

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Minnesota

My husband pays his ex half of the day care expenses for an 8 year old daughter. He was paying this directly to her but found out she had been lying to him about how often the daughter was attending day care. After a lot of hassle and her attempting to block any contact with the day care, my husband was able to obtain his daughter's attendance records and found he'd overpaid by about $158 so far. So he made arrangements to pay the day care directly for his half.

Yesterday my husband received a letter from his ex which included a copy of part of the divorce decree. She is stating that he is breaking the law by not sending her the money. He is still sending her the child support and $167 a month for medical insurance for the children. Is she right? Can she do anything if my husband continues to pay the day care directly? She didn't object when he paid the dentist or the doctors when there were medical expenses.

I appreciate any input.

Thanks.
 


LdiJ

Senior Member
legalcuriosity said:
This sounds like the ex-wife is just acting like a little baby because she was busted by her ex-hubby. She's throwing a temper-tantrum because she doesn't have that extra $$ at her disposal.

Maybe HE can threaten her with lying about daycare expenses & possibly going back to court to have the divorce decree adjusted because she lied and can't be trusted. I am pretty sure she'd shut up then.

The ex-wife needs to shut up. The daycare is getting paid and that's what's important.
We are only talking about 158.00 here over what apparently was a extended amount of time. Therefore it unlikely that there was much in the way of extra $$ at her disposal.

If the orders say that he is to pay the money to mom...then technically he is supposed to be paying the money to mom....and technically he is in contempt. However, as long as the money was not ordered to be paid via the CS agency, or "evened out" and as long as the daycare is being paid properly (his share of the ACTUAL weekly bill), and on time, then it shouldn't end up being any kind of real issue.

The problem is that unless mom is required to provide reciepts and dad reimburses her...daycare payments are often "evened out" so that they are a consistant amount each month, even though daycare costs are sometimes higher or lower depending on the time of year. Therefore, if dad was ordered to pay mom a specific amount each month, rather than just half of the actual bill.....it COULD be an issue in court. If dad was ordered to pay it via the CS agency then they are racking up arrearages.
 

bononos

Senior Member
martina6 said:
What is the name of your state? Minnesota

My husband pays his ex half of the day care expenses for an 8 year old daughter. He was paying this directly to her but found out she had been lying to him about how often the daughter was attending day care. After a lot of hassle and her attempting to block any contact with the day care, my husband was able to obtain his daughter's attendance records and found he'd overpaid by about $158 so far. So he made arrangements to pay the day care directly for his half.

Yesterday my husband received a letter from his ex which included a copy of part of the divorce decree. She is stating that he is breaking the law by not sending her the money. He is still sending her the child support and $167 a month for medical insurance for the children. Is she right? Can she do anything if my husband continues to pay the day care directly? She didn't object when he paid the dentist or the doctors when there were medical expenses.

I appreciate any input.

Thanks.
He isn't "breaking the law", it is a court order, not the law.
Tell her to take it to court if she wants, she'll look like the jerk for first of all lying and second for complaining she's not getting it directly.
Be sure to have the Day Care give all receipts he has and is paying directly and statements. There is a form from the IRS as well the care center will fill out with their tax ID number for your records, have them fill it out for him.
I'll look for it and send the link.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
bononos said:
He isn't "breaking the law", it is a court order, not the law.
Tell her to take it to court if she wants, she'll look like the jerk for first of all lying and second for complaining she's not getting it directly.
Be sure to have the Day Care give all receipts he has and is paying directly and statements. There is a form from the IRS as well the care center will fill out with their tax ID number for your records, have them fill it out for him.
I'll look for it and send the link.
Its unlikely that the daycare would provide him with that form. Only the parent with primary custody is entitled to claim the child care credit.
 

bononos

Senior Member
W-10 Form
Her is the link for the form. You'll just need it for future tax returns for the child care credit. Have the center fill it out so you have their ID number on file.
This form isn't sent in, just for your records.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
bononos said:
W-10 Form
Her is the link for the form. You'll just need it for future tax returns for the child care credit. Have the center fill it out so you have their ID number on file.
This form isn't sent in, just for your records.
Please look at my post above. (I am a professional tax preparer)
 

stealth2

Under the Radar Member
The long and the short of it is that it all depends on what the order actually says.
 

bononos

Senior Member
LdiJ said:
Please look at my post above. (I am a professional tax preparer)
I understand that, but there are exceptions depending on the situation

OP-
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw10.pdf Sorry wrong link, that's the form from above, let me get the correct one.

There is a section that explains who can claim in situations as these, but your order may already have included an agreement on dependant claiming.
 
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LdiJ

Senior Member
bononos said:
I understand that, but there are exceptions depending on the situation

OP-
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw10.pdf Sorry wrong link, that's the form from above, let me get the correct one.

There is a section that explains who can claim in situations as these, but your order may already have included an agreement on dependant claiming.
Sorry bononos, but you are NOT accurate on that one. You are mixing up different rules for different things.

The "Dependent Care" credit (child care credit) can only be claimed by the party with whom the dependent primarily resides (more than 6 months). EIC has the same rules.

The Child Tax Credit and the Dependency Exemption do not have the same rules.
 

brisgirl825

Senior Member
Typically a daycare charges whether the child is there or not. So if the child is sick and stays at home, mom still has to pay. Otherwise daycare providers have no stable source of income. So I am not sure how much right your husband has to say that he will only pay for when she's there b/c mom still has to pay. You should double check on that.
And if the court order says to pay to her, that's what he needs to do until he can get that changed, if possible.


Sarah
 

bononos

Senior Member
LdiJ said:
Sorry bononos, but you are NOT accurate on that one. You are mixing up different rules for different things.

The "Dependent Care" credit (child care credit) can only be claimed by the party with whom the dependent primarily resides (more than 6 months). EIC has the same rules.

The Child Tax Credit and the Dependency Exemption do not have the same rules.
I am refering to Form 2441 - Child and Dependant Care Expenses and the guidelines for claiming those.
And Yes, Schedule EIC and Form 8812 - Additional Child Tax Credit are seperate issues with seperate guidelines.
Again, OP this may all depend on your court order. I'm only stating to keep all billing records and have the center fill out the initial link to W-10 form if your order and situation apply.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
bononos said:
I am refering to Form 2441 - Child and Dependant Care Expenses and the guidelines for claiming those.
And Yes, Schedule EIC and Form 8812 - Additional Child Tax Credit are seperate issues with seperate guidelines.
Again, OP this may all depend on your court order. I'm only stating to keep all billing records and have the center fill out the initial link to W-10 form if your order and situation apply.
Directly from the IRS:

Child of Divorced or Separated Parents
To be a qualifying person, your child usually must be your dependent for whom you can claim an exemption. But there is an exception to this that applies if all of the following are true.




You are divorced or separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance or a written separation agreement, or you lived apart from the other parent at all times during the last 6 months of the year.

One or both parents had custody of the child for more than half of the year.

One or both parents provided more than half of the child's support for the year.

The child was under age 13 or was physically or mentally not able to care for himself or herself.

Either:

The custodial parent signed Form 8332, Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents, or a similar statement, agreeing not to claim the child's exemption for the year, or

The noncustodial parent provided at least $600 for the child's support and can claim the child's exemption under a pre-1985 decree or separate maintenance or written agreement.

For purposes of 5(a), a similar statement includes a divorce decree or separation agreement that went into effect after 1984 that allows the noncustodial parent to claim the child's exemption without any conditions, such as payment of support.

If the exception applies and you are the custodial parent, you can treat your child as a qualifying person even if you cannot claim the child's exemption. If you are the noncustodial parent, you cannot treat your child as a qualifying person even if you can claim the child's exemption.

Please make note of the above paragraph. While I realize that many people find it difficult to understand "IRSspeak"...that paragraph makes it clear that only the parent with primary custody can claim the child care credit.
 

martina6

Junior Member
Just to clarify a couple of issues...

My husband has two children and he and his ex wife take turns claiming the children on their taxes. This year (2006) is my husband's year to claim the daughter in question. Next year he will claim his son, who is currently 14. So he does get the tax forms from the day care on the years that apply to him.

The day care in question actually does only charge for when the child attends, that's what created the problem. They charge a fee for before school and a separate fee for after school (it's affiliated with the school district), so one is billed only when the child is present. She basically stopped going or would only be there before school and the ex neglected to let my husband know that he was over paying.

There isn't a CS account or any intermediary for collecting support/day care payments. He gives a check to her every month. He does get a bill from the day care to show the attendance and how much was billed for each month so he can pay his half.

I guess I just really wanted to know if he was doing something wrong. I feel like she lied... there's a real history (which he has documented) of her not paying the day care and accruing late fees ect. when he had been paying her in advance for day care all along. He just wants the money to go where the kids need it. He still gives her a check for the child support.

Do you think it's something she'd really pursue? And if she did, would she get anywhere considering the circumstances?
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
martina6 said:
Just to clarify a couple of issues...

My husband has two children and he and his ex wife take turns claiming the children on their taxes. This year (2006) is my husband's year to claim the daughter in question. Next year he will claim his son, who is currently 14. So he does get the tax forms from the day care on the years that apply to him.

The day care in question actually does only charge for when the child attends, that's what created the problem. They charge a fee for before school and a separate fee for after school (it's affiliated with the school district), so one is billed only when the child is present. She basically stopped going or would only be there before school and the ex neglected to let my husband know that he was over paying.

There isn't a CS account or any intermediary for collecting support/day care payments. He gives a check to her every month. He does get a bill from the day care to show the attendance and how much was billed for each month so he can pay his half.

I guess I just really wanted to know if he was doing something wrong. I feel like she lied... there's a real history (which he has documented) of her not paying the day care and accruing late fees ect. when he had been paying her in advance for day care all along. He just wants the money to go where the kids need it. He still gives her a check for the child support.

Do you think it's something she'd really pursue? And if she did, would she get anywhere considering the circumstances?
As far as paying the daycare is concerned, the most that would probably happen is that dad would get a slap on the wrist...and be told that he could continue to pay the daycare directly.

As far as taxes are concerned....unless the child for whom daycare is paid lives with you more than 184 days per year, your husband IS NOT entitled to take the child care credit even if he gets the exemption...and is in fact is in fact cheating on his taxes if he does.

Mom IS entitled to take the credit for the child, even on the years that your husband gets the exemption.
 

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