This 5-page paper examines a case study regarding two divorced parents, their two children, and dependency exemptions under circumstances of joint custody. Bibliography lists 1 source.
Name of Research Paper File: D0_MTdivcas.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
13) and Harriet (age 12). According to the study, the decree provided for joint custody of the children, with the parents having the children in alternating weeks. The divorce decree,
however, didnt provide for child support payments, nor did the decree indicate which parents were to claim the dependency exemption. Both parents had good-paying professional jobs, meaning there was little
problem in terms of child support. During 2003, though the parents tried to alternate and share custody to the best of their abilities,
a lot of custodial trading took place throughout the period. Sometimes, the children would be with Fred for two weeks if Susan was out of town; then Susan would return
the favor by keeping the children during one of Freds weeks. But neither parent kept records, so it was difficult to determine who kept the most custody. In the meantime,
both parents contributed equally to the childrens support. Which parent should claim dependency exemptions for the children?
According to the textbook supplied by the student (the student needs to put the information here), dependency exemptions are claimed for each individual when five tests are met: support
of the person, relationship or member of the household, gross income, joint system, citizen/residency. The support test, according to this chapter, means
that more than one-half of the support of the individual must be given by the taxpayer, with "support" being defined as food, shelter, clothing, medical and dental care, education and
so on. The exception to this test is whats termed a "multiple support agreement," which permits one of a group of taxpayers that furnishes support to claim a dependency exemption