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You are here: Home / Archives for Child Support

Attorney Jonathan Fields Quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly on New Child Support Guidelines

Family bar on board with new child support guidelines

Changes address combined income amount, treatment of alimony

By: Pat Murphy October 22, 2021

Family law attorneys say the revised child support guidelines that went into effect at the beginning of October provide needed clarity and consistency in the determination of parental payment obligations.

Trial Court Chief Justice Paula M. Carey unveiled the new guidelines in early August. The revisions address a wide range of issues, highlighted by an increase from $250,000 to $400,000 in the maximum combined available income level for the parties in a case, clarification of the treatment of alimony as income in the calculation of support, and clarification of the types of Social Security payments to be considered in the calculation.

Lynette Paczkowski of Worcester said the revisions reflect the economic realities of living and raising children in Massachusetts.

“There was a recognition that Massachusetts is a fairly expense place to live,” Paczkowski said. “Regardless of whether or not the average income in Massachusetts is higher than elsewhere, not every household meets that average, but every household is subject to the cost of living here.”  

Jonathan E. Fields, a Wellesley attorney who served on the task force that recommended revisions to the child support guidelines that went into effect in 2017, also lauded the new changes.

to read the full article please visit: https://masslawyersweekly.com/2021/10/22/child-support-guidelines-massachusetts-family-law/

Filed Under: Child Support, Divorce, Firm News

Child Tax Credit and Dependency Exemption: Will the New Law Affect You?

Article I wrote just published in Divorce Magazine….

———–

With the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), U.S. Congress made significant changes to the Child Tax Credit and dependency exemptions that will matter a lot to divorcing parents. The key takeaway: the Child Tax Credit follows whoever has the dependency exemption – so it still matters how the dependency exemption is allocated in divorce agreements. Further, to those who say that the TCJA eliminated the dependency exemption – this is not true.  It has been reduced to zero through 2025, but it has not been eliminated.

Child Tax Credit and Dependency Exemptions: Background

A little background first. The dependency exemption was $4,050 per “qualifying child” in 2017 – which meant that, to someone with a 35% effective tax rate, it was worth about $1,400. It was available to most taxpayers as it only began to phase out for single filers at adjusted gross incomes of $261,500.

Subject to a multiplicity of factors beyond the scope of this short article, the “qualifying child” was one who reached the age of majority according to the state in which the child is domiciled. Most states recognize 18 as the “age of majority” – which is the age at which state residents are legally considered adults. The age at which a minor child qualifies to become emancipated (meaning that the minor is no longer legally under their parents’ care, and that they will have all of the rights, responsibilities, and privileges of someone who has reached the age of majority) varies from state to state.

The primary custodial parent is entitled to claim the dependency exemption unless the parent agrees to release the exemption to the other parent by completing and filing Form 8332 with the IRS. Divorce agreements typically contain a provision as to how the dependency exemption is allocated.

The Child Tax Credit, as noted above, attached to whoever had the dependency exemption – and the TCJA doesn’t change this.  However, until TCJA, the Child Tax Credit ($1,000 per child in 2017) began to phase out for single filers at adjusted gross incomes of $75,000 – so many divorce lawyers who deal with higher net worth clients never really confronted it.

The Child Tax Credit is More Valuable Under the TCJA

The TCJA made the Child Tax Credit more valuable, doubling it to $2,000 per “qualifying child” and making it available to most taxpayers; it only begins to phase out for single filers at adjusted gross incomes of $200,000. And, unlike the dependency exemption, it’s a credit: that is, it applies dollar-for-dollar against any taxes owed. Even better, it’s a refundable credit of up to $1,400 per child. This means that if the amount of the credit is larger than the tax owed, then the taxpayer gets a cash refund for the difference (up to $1,400).

As with the dependency exemption, there are a host of factors beyond the scope here that define the “qualifying child.” For the most part, however, to be eligible for the Child Tax Credit, a child must be under 17 years old as of December 31 of the tax year in order for the Child Tax Credit to apply.

The bottom line: if you’re going through a divorce, make sure you and/or your lawyer have a good handle on how the new tax law has impacted this area. You don’t want to leave valuable dollars on the table.

Read article here.

Filed Under: Child Support, Divorce and Parenting, Divorce and Tax Planning

More Women Are Now Paying Alimony and Child Support

Female breadwinners are ponying up for their exes more than ever.

A recent American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) survey found that more than four in 10 lawyers (45%) had seen an increase over the past three years in women being on the hook for alimony, aka spousal support or maintenance. Meanwhile, 54% said they’d seen a rise in mothers paying child support…

Continue reading here.

Filed Under: Alimony, Child Support

Jonathan E. Fields quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly on 2017 Child Support Guidelines

Jonathan Fields, one of four private attorneys appointed by Chief Justice Paula Carey to the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines Taskforce was quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly in an article about the new Child Support Guidelines.

When new child support guidelines take effect in the Probate & Family Court Sept. 15, members of the task force responsible for drafting them hope that they will usher in a fairer way of apportioning major family expenses, such as child care, health care and college, while also reversing a change from the last round of revisions in 2012, which unintentionally spawned litigation and acrimony.

In all cases establishing or modifying a child support order, there is a rebuttable presumption that the guidelines apply. Federal regulations require the guidelines to be reviewed every four years, and charged with that duty this time around was a 13-member task force chaired by Probate & Family Court Chief Justice Angela M. Ordonez.

Beginning in March 2016, the task force spent 15 months poring over previous iterations of the guidelines, the last two in particular, and debating and researching possible changes.
The goal, said task force member Fern L. Frolin of Boston, was to improve on previous editions of the guidelines, not “change for its own sake.”

The most significant change, said fellow member Jonathan E. Fields of Wellesley, may be the commentary that the task force has provided within the document itself for the first time, giving the practitioner an idea of how the panel was thinking about various issues.
Beyond that global change, however, there are also some important details. The full text of the 20-page guidelines can be found at masslawyersweekly.com.

Filed Under: Child Support

New 2017 Child Support Guidelines, a Reference Guide

Child support guidelines are some of the most important tools available to family lawyers and divorcing parents. Whether you are going to trial or negotiating an agreement outside court, child support guidelines help you to start with a clear understanding of what is expected of you as a divorcing parent.

Jonathan Fields is a family law attorney with extensive experience mediating, negotiating, arbitrating and litigating family law matters, as well as publishing and presenting on matters related to family law. In 2016 he was appointed to the Massachusetts Trial Court Child Support Guidelines Task Force. The guidelines are updated every 4 years, and this year, there are plenty of changes family law professionals and divorcing parents should be aware of, from college contributions to unreported income. Check out the reference guide for the new Child Support Guidelines, or join Mr. Fields at the Child Support Guidelines Workshop at MWI, August 22, 2017 from 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM.

  • 2017 Child Support Guidelines  pdf format of 2017 Child Support Guidelines

    Effective September 15, 2017

  • Instructions for Completing the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet  pdf format of Completing the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet

    Effective September 15, 2017

  • 2017 Child Support Guidelines Chart  pdf format of 2017 Child Support Guidelines Chart

    Effective September 15, 2017

  • Findings and Determinations for Child Support and Post-secondary Education Form (CJD-305)  pdf format of Findings and Determinations for Child Support CJD-305

    Effective September 15, 2017

  • Report of the 2016-2017 Task Force  pdf format of Report of the 2016-2017 Task Force
  • Economic Review of the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines, 2016-2017  pdf format of 2016-2017 Child Support Guidelines Econonmic Review  
  • 2017 Child Support Guidelines Worksheet Sample (CJD 304)  pdf format of 2017 Child Support Guidelines Worksheet Sample CJD-304

    Effective September 15, 2017

Filed Under: Child Support, Divorce, Firm News Tagged With: Child Support Guidelines, Child Support Guidelines 2017, Massachusetts Child Support

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