Child support for separated couple

Additional Information: I have been separated from my ex for over a year with a pre trial conference coming up. I have been making child support payments to her based on the mass calculation sheet, but she is trying to nickle and dime me on every issue and I feel I should be able to claim them as exemptions as well. Do I need to pay her if I have the kids multiple nights a week ?

Attorney Answer:

It seems you are asking 2 questions. What is the appropriate amount of child support and what does it cover/not cover? What are the rules regarding tax exemptions? There is information on line from the court about the child support guidelines, how they are calculated and what the payments generally cover. It would be important for you and your wife to decide prior to the judgment what expenses are anticipated for the children and how all these will be paid with caps where appropriate. Be as specific as possible and include college expenses or at least a formula to figure out at the appropriate time how that major expense will be paid.

As to the second question, there are IRS rules as to who may take exemptions but either party may release their exemptions to the other parent. You may want to have a financial person run the numbers both ways to see the benefit to each parent as it related to their tax return.