inheritance question
Does anyone know if an inheritance is considered income? If so, is it included in the determining for child support. BM's father passed away last fall and she has come into some money and will come into more when the family house is sold. So I want to know if that is counted as income.
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I think it can.
It probably depends on the state, so I would check your state's guidelines for sure, but in most states, income includes money from an inheritance, lottery winnings, insurance settlements, anything. It's not just about actual earnings from a job, but about the ability to earn, assets, financial resources, etc. So yes, it probably can be considered as income.
But... and this is strictly my opinion and doesn't count for squat - I think if the parent that inherits the money is already paying an adequate amount of support and the child is being appropriately financially cared for, then I wouldn't go after the money. If you go after it because the child needs it, that's one thing, but going after it just because the other parent has it and you want it, well, it comes off as being a little greedy. Legally, it's income and can be considered. Morally, I don't know. It's a gift left to her by her father. I would hope that BM wouldn't come after us if DH received an inheritance, because I know we would not seek to have it lowered if she received one, but who knows?!
♥ Georgia ♥
"Good men don't just happen. They have to be created by us women." (from ROSEANNE)
THANKS
BM took BF's inheritance from his grandmother and spent it all. BF did not get any of it. This was a few months before they seperated. BM claimed she spent it on bills, but they did not have any extra bills that needed to paid, just the normal stuff that got paid every month. BF thinks BM used that money for her own gain, like clothes and spending it on her "boyfriends".
I wanted to know if it is income so we can add that into her employment income in determining how much/if any child support BF would have to pay. Just trying to cover all the bases and leave no stone unturned.
Is he going for 50/50 custody eventually?
Just curious. Whatever you do, don't let him ever agree to paying for any "extras." So many people get sucked into that. Agree to pay a fixed amount, plus his portion of unpaid medical bills, but don't let him ever agree to "extras." A lot of people get stuck with paying so much more than the true amount to support the child because they agree to split "extras," but that term is so poorly defined that they end up paying for crap that supposed to be covered by the CS.
A good rule of thumb is that if the IRS considers it "income," then it probably can be used to calculate CS.
♥ Georgia ♥
"Good men don't just happen. They have to be created by us women." (from ROSEANNE)
Not in Colorado.
At least not for alimony. I had a girlfriend that received alimony evenn though she inherited almost a million dollars from her brother when he passed away. Her lawyer specifically told her that because it was an inheritance, her husband couldn't touch it and it wasn't taken into account for an alimony determination.
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain."
BM used the umbrella of inheritance
to take all of DH's non-taxed income and stick it in her own account. When he got back from Iraq he went to withdraw money for dinner and their personal account said they had insufficient funds for 40 bucks. After 4 months of untaxed Major's salary?
In Ohio you don't have to split inheritance if you put it in a separate account. So we're thinking BM did that and then kept on adding to it. DH didn't figure this out during the divorce because he never knew what the inheritance amount was.
People can be so easily screwed over financially. If you're still settling, I would definitely put that amount in there if you can. It will only help you when it comes time for CS, no matter who's paying who.
Peace, love, and red wine