Q. A divorced employee shares custody of her son with her ex-spouse. Custody is shared equally. Can the employee participate in our Dependent Day Care Flexible Spending Account Plan and be reimbursed for her son’s day care expenses?
A.- It depends. The custodial parent may be reimbursed for the eligible expenses incurred by the son, but only one parent can be the custodial parent. The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child resides for the greater number of nights during the calendar year. If the number of nights with each parent is the same, the parent with the higher adjusted gross income is treated as the custodial parent.
