tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707332630639933436.post8682929612042941259..comments2024-02-21T07:58:44.752-05:00Comments on The Great Umbrella Heist: On death and taxesSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09856102708963900512noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707332630639933436.post-75736239720185693482011-04-21T11:07:56.834-04:002011-04-21T11:07:56.834-04:00I was going to say exactly what Hope Mama's sa...I was going to say exactly what Hope Mama's said about the baby bonus here in Aus being available to parents of stillbirths, as will as live births and adoptive parents... here are some extracts from different sites, in case you're interested.<br /><br />"Eligibility for Baby Bonus<br />Baby Bonus is payable to:<br /> * A parent of a baby if the parent meets all other eligibility criteria at any time within 13 weeks of the baby's birth; or<br /> * A parent of a stillborn baby if the parent would have met all the other criteria if the baby had not been stillborn;<br />from http://www.babybonus.com.au/australian-baby-bonus-t16.html<br /><br />another one on the law:<br />http://www.facsia.gov.au/guides_acts/fag/faguide-2/faguide-2.4/faguide-2.4.1.html<br /><br />"Women who have stillborn children can receive the bonus on compassionate grounds.<br />According to the Parliamentary Library, the definition of a stillborn child in the Family Assistance Act is one who weighs at least 400g at delivery or whose period of gestation was at least 20 weeks; who has not breathed since delivery; and whose heart has not beaten since delivery.<br /><br />from http://www.news.com.au/national/call-for-inquiry-on-baby-bonus-abortion-loophole/story-e6frfkvr-1225854887365<br /><br /><br />If you deliver before 20 weeks or 400g you can apply for a "Commemorative Certificate for Early Pregnancy Loss." <br />http://www.nt.gov.au/justice/bdm/documents/bdm/app_commerative_cert_delivery.pdf<br /><br />I can't find out online what happens with a still birth in regards to the certs issued._Willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11734961341881709037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707332630639933436.post-24016193981912734672011-04-16T20:07:44.010-04:002011-04-16T20:07:44.010-04:00Sally - thank you for sharing what it is like in y...Sally - thank you for sharing what it is like in your country. It amazes me how different countries can be. And you most certainly deserve an inquest.<br /><br />Amy & Becky - I pulled those states from a list. I had forgotten that Alaska doesn't have a state income tax. Under Alaska, the link was broken so I'm not sure exactly what the deduction is. I wish I had had some time to research it before I posted.<br /><br />Wiley - I believe each state decides the difference between miscarriage and stillbirth. From what I have seen, it is pretty much the same across the US. The difference is 20 weeks and the baby has to weigh a certain amount. I think that is to mark the difference in a baby, who may have passed away at 15 weeks but wasn't delivered until 20 weeks.<br /><br />Meg - Garage sale earnings are different b/c you have a cost for those items and you are selling them at a loss. (Those losses are not deductible btw.)Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09856102708963900512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707332630639933436.post-78296359655588262912011-04-16T15:04:59.169-04:002011-04-16T15:04:59.169-04:00Political policies boggle my mind. I can't com...Political policies boggle my mind. I can't comment personally on this topic, but as an observer it drives me nuts. Stillborn or not, she was still born. It's not like she disappeared into thin air. {I do not understand the way this world works sometimes.} <br /><br />On the subject of reporting money from sponsors (for blogs)... I never thought of that! Does this mean we also need to report earnings from garage sales or other little things we may have "earned" money on? Does that count?Meghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09221624030193563967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707332630639933436.post-5772402085625592052011-04-16T10:15:54.129-04:002011-04-16T10:15:54.129-04:00This raised another question in my mind when I tho...This raised another question in my mind when I thought about it some more, is there an official cutoff between miscarriage and stillbirth? And is it based on when the demise happens or when the baby is delivered? <br /><br />I'd hate to come up with where the line is drawn and so I'm wondering if that's part of the reason for requiring alive at birth? But saying a twenty weeker born breathing is more or less a child than a forty weeker born still seems hard for me to do as well. <br /><br />Our daughter died at 24 weeks, but wasn't born until a day short of 30 because she was a twin. I count her as a child, but I can kind of understand her not counting for IRS purposes. This is one end of the spectrum. At the other is the full term baby who dies during the delivery process. I have a lot more trouble with excluding this baby. <br /><br />Anyone else know anything more about how this is handled in more countries?Wileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17276125021264602754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707332630639933436.post-52130870648268492352011-04-16T03:27:18.867-04:002011-04-16T03:27:18.867-04:00Wow, what a great post. I am not exactly a tax per...Wow, what a great post. I am not exactly a tax person, and might have looked into this for next tax season, but had wondered if I would be able claim Liam at all on taxes next year. I was not aware that Alaska allowed that, now I need to to read more into it. <br /><br />Liam was born in California, even though we are Alaskan residents, and was happy to hear that they had the certificate of stillbirth-speaking of which mine should be in the mail by now I applied for it a month and a half ago.Beckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11917822168137274298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707332630639933436.post-83065179466741033992011-04-16T00:19:38.487-04:002011-04-16T00:19:38.487-04:00Alaska had a bill to issue stillbirth certificates...Alaska had a bill to issue stillbirth certificates in the making when I delivered. I read about it afterward and cried, and then wrote a letter to the sponsor thanking him, and to one of the two who voted against it yelling. <br /><br />I can't imagine why Alaska would allow the dependent exemption, we don't have a state income tax. Maybe it's ceremonial? I do remember filing my income taxes the year after I delivered, and just reading and re-reading the dependent definitions on Turbo Tax - "You cannot claim a stillborn child." Over and over.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707332630639933436.post-74672172407501504922011-04-15T22:27:59.807-04:002011-04-15T22:27:59.807-04:00Exactly. Exactly. I have raged about this same top...Exactly. Exactly. I have raged about this same topic before. but I love the technical side you can present. I knew Michigan offered a small tax deduction, but didn't know about the other states.<br /><br /> I was happy to find out MN offered a Birth Certificate resulting in Stillbirth in MN. There were a lot of people in MN who fought for that for me...before I ever was pregnant with Curtis.Chantelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18040429393319551211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707332630639933436.post-49706587386969328152011-04-15T22:04:35.867-04:002011-04-15T22:04:35.867-04:00Our system is so much different to yours and thank...Our system is so much different to yours and thankfully our country does seem a bit more progressive. We get a birth certificate, just like everyone else, though the word "stillborn" does appear at the top, just to make it clear. Otherwise, it is exactly the same document. However, I do find it odd I got no death certificate. As she did die. She's not here. But that's not really a complaint as such, just all part of this weird, confusing and alienating experience.<br />In Australia, we get what is called the "Baby Bonus" when we have a child, a one off payment of about $5000. I just naturally assumed that once Hope was stillborn, we'd miss out on this payment, but thankfully our government has a heart, and we still got it - not to mention a very heartfelt letter that came after we got that payment, that didn't sound anything like you'd expect to receive from the government at all. The money meant little to us, but like you say, we still had all the same pre-parenthood expenses as everyone else, not to mention a funeral to arrange and pay for in the days after she died, so it was very much appreciated and needed.<br />Simple things like this, at least in my country, do help to make me feel as if she counted, she mattered and that I don't have to hide her away. But as a whole, in all parts of the world, we still have such a long way to go. For example, if she lived, even if she was born at 20 weeks and took one breath, we'd be able to get an inquest in to her death (due to the questionable care we got in those last few days). But because she was stillborn, she doesn't count. Just goes down in the record books as a failed pregnancy, and we left feeling confused, bereft, empty arms with a general message of "better luck next time". Not good enough. Not in a million years.<br />xoHope's Mamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04984543289642681339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707332630639933436.post-88896160829419787322011-04-15T21:20:23.342-04:002011-04-15T21:20:23.342-04:00Wow, I'm not directly a tax person, but as an ...Wow, I'm not directly a tax person, but as an actuary I am pretty tax-aware and somehow I didn't think about this. I think mainly because of the whole being in the wrong year anyway. I did make the joke prior to the delivery that the deduction wouldn't offset the second annual out of pocket, so I was at least sort of tax aware. <br /><br />I really like the argument about preparing for a child and the expense. While it's the validation that the stillborn child was real that would mean the most to me, it's this objective argument that stands out to me. <br /><br />Wow.Wileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17276125021264602754noreply@blogger.com