Claiming Legal Fees (Case Law) For Tax Deduction in Child Support Matters

[FB_]

Thanks FB_ for the information. That's reassuring. Did they ask you for receipts, or official documentation (divorce judgement etc), or was it just an acceptance without question?

Well the whole thing is kind of a process. I had to get them to recognize me as divorced/separated first. Then I had to file a T1 adj for 2011 and 2012 and got the money this year.

The whole process of proving I was separated/divorced took almost 2 years with lots of documentation, several appeals but in the end it it all as expected.

You can review the 17 page thread here

http://www.ottawadivorce.com/forum/f...parated-13862/

[OrleansLawyer]

Does anyone have experience of being a net payor in a shared custody regime and having been denied their deduction for legal fees? If this is true is it because both parents are technically "payors" of child support and therefore neither can claim legal fees?

What some people do is spell out that each side is receiving child support.

Ie, Bob pays Betty $500 per month for the children Sam and Sally, and Betty pays Bob $700 per month for the children Sam and Sally, with a net payment of $200 per month.

Due to the rules surrounding claiming children as equivalent to spouse, the above is rephrased at some points to read:
Bob pays Betty $500 per month for Sam, and Betty pays Bob $700 per month for Sally, for a net payment of $200 - and each parent claims the child they receive support for, and claim legal fees to obtain the support.

How often this is accepted because CRA approves of the practice, and how often simply because The Gods Are Merciful, is an unknown.

[now i see the moon]

payor

Hi Orleans Lawyer,

In your examples, only the second of them would be acceptable to CRA for purposes of claiming legal fees for child support, right?

[maxwellsmart]

Non custodial parent paid x in section 7 expenses to third parties directly . A part of legal proceedings non custodial parent establishes that custodial parent owes him an amount being her share of the section 7 expenses he paid .

Can non custodial parent deduct legal fees incurred to receive the mother's share of the add on ( section 7 ) costs?

[maxwellsmart]

To clarify last para above should read deduct on income tax return

[involveddad75]

I claimed 40% of my legal fees (which were trying to get to trial) I self represented and after some negotiation with CRA was approved for all of it.

[maxwellsmart]

Well done . Thank you