Here is something to Chew on

as far as I can figure the VAC PA pension SHOULD NOT be taken into account AT ALL . yup some provinces have in the past and still do . thing is I believe that was because they were determining this as income or income replacement NOT a pain and suffering award . yup that was up in the air kind of at least until the SISIP lawsuit NOW there should be no doubt AT ALL this IS a pain and suffering benefit . the pain and suffering payment IS NOT EXEMPT from income tax say if living on a first nations reserve and you are exempt from paying federal tax on your income. the fact is it is NOT INCOME under the law thus cannot be taxed . they may seem the same but at times can mean different things.

now as far as your current query buds you are in a spot . on one hand her income cannot be used to determine your child support . yet they are giving her an income through you and for some reason someone is calculating this as YOUR INCOME .

hmmmmmm

I would take a stand on this and NOT record it as income for the purpose of child support . and if push came to shove I would take my argument to a judge .

I would just stick with the general guideline of using the total income from your tax return a.

if pushed and are comfortable with a legal battle fight on.

if not comfortable concede .

if not comfortable with any of this concede immediately .

big decision.

best of luck

propat

I am not attempting to avoid tax on the VAC money. For child support purposes the tax free money from VAC is increased by 30%. This is called Grossed up. In other words if the VAC money I receive was a paycheck then what I get in the bank account would be the net amount. So in essence they take all the VAC benefits and add 30% to make it the same as if it were considered income.

For instance if I made $10 000 on civi street the company would tax me, lets say 30%, and I would end up with $7000 in my bank.  The VAC grossed up amount is then added to my SISIP income to determine Child Support.

What my issue is that VAC provides my wife with the additional pension for spouse and the caretaker amount. These benefits are not mine but are considered income for Child Support +30% because VAC will not give them directly to my spouse.

For me this is not a child support issue but a fundimental issue of mis-using government funds for other than their intended purposes. Of which I do not want to loose these benefits because I am giving a portion of them to my ex first. And you guys know how hard it is to get the caretaker amount.

As it is I have been and will continue to gross up my Vac Pension benefits for Child Support. But it really irks me that the money VAC provides for my spouse and the caretaker amount does not go to her first and if I didn't cover the difference she would be shorted a good portion of these benefits.

I have sent VAC and the Minister of Veterans affairs Kent Hehr a letter discussing this matter. I am hoping that there may be some kind of precedent or legal paperwork I could use to help out and clarify this issue.

In the end it is not about the money but the principle of the matter and I don't like being forced to do anything which I feel is morally wrong. Plus I don't want to loose these benefits.

And, as I found out, the gross up amount is legal in BC, MB, and On. But few know it and I will not spread the word to any body elses ex's.

Very interesting... splitting hairs.

Pipes wrote " The problem that is occuring is that these benefits are considered income as they are deposited into my bank instead of being given directly by VAC to my spouse and caretaker.

Hey Pipes, maybe I'm reading wrong but it sounds like your trying to separate VAC benefits for whatever reason and avoiding some tax implications on your count? Methinks not likely on both counts.
You could always have your bank pre-authorize funds to her somehow, but you still pay the piper.

There's another side to this though. If I get married, never tell my spouse the source of my income and then separate, go to court/divorce/etc... no one and no court is any wiser for what they don't know...
At least your spouse is your caretaker. Wow.

I see now , spouse still but not together , paying child support. I thought I heard somewhere that the VAC pension ,being tax free money , for pain and suffering is for the individual only and not considered income to be given to spousal and / or child support.

It sounds just like SISIP considering VAC pension money as income when it is tax free. Sounds like a reason for another CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT.

A VAC pension and VIP benefits are tax free therefore are not income so I am not sure what you are referring to. Do you mean the courts consider it income when it is not on your income tax as income , therefore they would only know about it if you have told them?

Pipes - Welcome to this awesome gp of Vets on here. That is one I really never thought of. But I do see your pt. If this FCGB is for your new spouse who looks after you, it should not be considered in overall income. But if your child spt goes off your yearly Income tax amount from the prior yr, which I fiqure it should, and the FCGB is tax free, it would not show up. Sorry I am way beyond child spt, so did not realize you had to show bank account statements? Congrats on getting the FCGB, as I got turned down, and know of very few who get it. VVV...

To my knowledge an understanding VAC will not split pension amounts into different accounts.

It goes to one account only.

Even if you were to sign over power of attorney , the person who is the power of attorney will also just get one account for the pension to go to.

You can set it up with your banking institution to have a set amount go into a particular account at a certain time of the Month.

I have been in this dispute for a while and would like your opinions.

This is my latest I have sent to VAC asking for help. Basically I would like for them to deposit the VAC pension for spouse in my spouses bank along with the Caretaker amount. For the sole reason is that it is hers, not mine. But since VAC puts it into my bank to pass onto my spouse it is considered income.

What are your ideas and possible solutions? I feel that these two benefits should not be split but instead given dollor for dollar to whom they are allocated for.

To VAC,
All the VAC benefits including benefits provided to me such as
Extra Pension for Spouse and the Caretaker Benefit are considered
in Canadian Courts to be income and incure a 30% increase to
compenstate for federal taxes. This money, designated by VAC
to be given to the Spouse and Caretaker is entrusted to me to
pass onto my spouse and Caretaker. The problem that is occuring
is that these benefits are considered income as they are deposited
into my bank instead of being given directly by VAC to my spouse
and caretaker. As these benefits are used first in the calculation
of my child support obligations the full amount cannot be given
in their entirety to my spouse and caretaker. I think this is
wrong for the simple purpose as it is not my money. It is money
allocated by you, VAC, to give directly to my spouse and my caretaker.

This would also be true if and when my application for the VIP
benefit were to be approved. The VIP benefit would increase by
30% and used as income to determine my Child Support. Therefor
the money allocated for paying somebody to help me work about
the house and yard would be considerably less. So, my question
is " Can you please provide my spouse who is also my caretaker
the VAC benefit money directly, without going through me?"
Why should my spouse be shorted the VAC Benefit and the Caretaker
Benefit? And more importantly should she be shorted? Should any
one helping about the house be shorted the VIP Benefit money?
Is it legal for this to happen? Help

Pipes

Just to let you guys know I hire a lawyer every year to do my taxes for the sole purpose of determining Child Support using the Federal Child Support Tables. I am not trying to get out of paying Child Support in any way, I just feel that the VAC benefits for my spouse should go to her.