In re the Marriage of Leff
Carrie Leff, Petitioner-Appellee
Charles Leff, Respondent-Appellant
Attorney for Appellant
Christopher F. O'Donohoe
Attorney for Appellee
Jeremy L. Thompson
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Howard County, James D. Coil, Judge. AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED AND REMANDED. Heard by Tabor, P.J., and Greer and Ahlers, JJ. Opinion by Ahlers, J. (14 pages)
Charles Leff appeals the provisions regarding child support and tax benefits from the ruling dissolving his marriage to Carrie Leff. He argues the trial court improperly determined his income for calculating his child support obligation and improperly allowed Carrie to claim one of the parties’ children as a dependent on her tax returns. Carrie requests appellate attorney fees. OPINION HOLDS: We agree with the trial court that Charles’s gross annual income for support purposes is $84,440.00, but we find his entire income is taxable. Therefore, we remand to the district court for the purpose of calculating his child support obligation and entering a corresponding support order. Because the child support obligation may influence the determination of how to equitably allocate the right to claim the children as dependents on the parties’ tax returns, we also remand to reconsider such allocation. We otherwise affirm the trial court, and we deny Carrie’s request for appellate attorney fees.