Divorce Advice for Men | Fathers Rights Divorce | Child Custody

Question:

I am divorced and as part of our decree, I am allowed to claim our children on my taxes.

However, I have to pay my ex-wife the difference between what she gets back and what she would get back if she claimed the kids.

Am I entitled to see a copy of her submitted tax return to verify what I owe her? If not, I am taking her word for it.

By Jennifer M. Paine

Michigan Divorce Lawyer

No matter what your settlement agreement/divorce decree calls it, you can deduct payments to your ex under four circumstances.

You can deduct payments that:

With the deadline passed for having your taxes filed, financial adviser Dan Danford answers this timely tax question about how tax refunds work: Some years I owe money to the IRS, some years I get money refunded, and the amounts always vary.

Is there a way to get a consistent refund or have an idea on how much I will receive or owe? If you live on a tight budget it's difficult when you receive an unexpected and unknown expense, such as owing additional taxes.

Danford, MBA, CRSP, of Family Investment Center, says while the tax refund process is easy to understand, there are many complicated factors.

Question:

For several years, my income tax return was sent directly to my state's department of child support. I have proof from the IRS of these payments.

However, my ex-wife never received the money and it was not credited toward my child support arrearage because the money was misused or lost by my state's child support division.

What can I do to fix this mistake?

By Kristin K. Zurek

Attorney, Cordell & Cordell, P.C.

Around this time every year, clients start to ask me how to approach their tax filings while their divorce litigation is pending. As the parties are not yet divorced, does it benefit the client to filing separately or filing jointly?

Read on for the answer to that question and more advice about how to handle tax issues while a divorce is pending.