Legal Question in Tax Law in New York

Re: dependants in a seperation

This is somewhat complicated as it not only involves tax and matrimonial law, but also requires a financial analysis of contribution to child support, and you provided no financial information. While on a time basis, you meet the criteria (more than half of the year residence with you) to claim them, there is also the question of which of you contributes (financially) more than one-half of their support. This is usually also handled as a matrimonial negotiation, as it takes only one child as a dependent to allow you to file your return as head of household and claim the child as a dependent. If a divorce will take place, this is usually handled in the negotiations of the Property Settlement Agreement, or in the decision of the Judge, if the parties cannot agree. Leaving emotions aside, divorce negotiations usually involve issues of custody, alimony and child support, plus questions of education costs, etc. My suggestion for you to consider, is to try to work out the terms of your PSA promptly (regardless of whether or not filing for divorce is imminent), including the issues I have raised, and negotiate, as part of the PSA, splitting the claiming of the children on the tax returns of each of you. Since the tax rates for head of household are lower than those for singles, and may also entitle each of you to claim a dependent, the tax savings may factor into the issue of alimony and child support and may result in some tax loss, but offset by savings in alimony and child support payments. This is a response to an Internet question and the reply is not intended to be or considered to be legal advice and/or as creating an attorney-client relationship.