Medical expenses

[tonia2021]

Client's divorce became final. She claims one child on her tax return and ex-husband claims other. Wife has a medical flex plan at work. HR tells her she can only sumbit medical expenses for herself and the one child that she claims on her taxes. She is liable for all the medical expenses for both children, however ex-husband has agreed to reimburse her for 1/2.

Is it correct that she can only flex the medical bills for herself and the one child that she deducts on her tax return?

If this is incorrect, where can I find documentation that she could present to her HR that shows she can also flex the medical expenses of the second child?

Thank you in advance for the response.

[erchess]

I would suggest

that whether she may flex medical expenses of a nondependant child would depend on the rules of the plan. What she might want to do is have a lawyer eyeball the legal language of the plan.

It also seems to me that they are splitting expenses in the wrong way. If the two children have approximately equal medical expenses then the thing to do is have husband pay the expenses of the child he claims as dependent. Surely he has medical insurance that would help with those expenses. To keep the total financial arrangement balanced he would stop reimbursing wife for half of the medical expenses of the two children.