My daughter is 5 months old and her father has not seen her and doesnt want to. He does pay childsupport but now he is takung me to court because he wants to be able to claim her on his taxes every year. Will the court grant him that?
Typically the every other year arrangement only applies with joint custody. Because you have primary physical custody, you should be granted the tax deduction every year. Paying child support does not entitle him to the tax deduction. The only year we claimed my step-daughter was the year that she spent 6 months with us, and we split that with her mom anyway.
It depends on the Judge. I used to prepare taxes and I have seen where the parents have to take turns. One year the Mom can claim him and the next year the Father. The only thing is make sure you have it in writing. Sometimes the Father will try to sneak and claim the child by filing his taxes early before the mother. You can take him to court if he does but it will hold up your filing. I would bring up the fact that he is not part of her life when you go to court. Good luck!!
Hi A.,
Probably not, unless he has some super duper good reason that I don't know about. I agree with the other mama's to get it in writing. You may have included it, and depending on what kind of state you were in when you guys filed I know lots of mama's that either didn't pay attention to some of the fine print or didn't understand the implications of letting the non-custodial parent file...... so you may have given him the abililty to claim her without knowing it.
If it's NOT written in the custodial decree, then the federal government says this.......
(basically the parent that the kid lives with most gets to claim them as a dependent unless that parent agrees to let the other parent claim the child).
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4449.pdf
Generally, because of the residency test, a child of divorced or separated parents is the qualifying child of the custodial parent. However, the child will be treated as the qualifying child (for the purposes of claiming a dependency exemption and the child tax credit, but not for the earned income credit) of the noncustodial parent if all four of the following statements are true:
1. The parents:
a. are divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance,
b. are separated under a written separation agreement, or
c. lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the year, whether or not they are or were married.
2. The child received over half of his or her support for the year from the parents.
3. The child is in the custody of one or both parents for more than half of the year.
4. The noncustodial parent attaches a Form 8332, or similar statement containing the same information required by the form, to his or her return. The form must be signed by the custodial parent. (See special rules in Publication 17 for a pre-1985 or post-1984 and pre-2009 divorce decree or separation agreement.)
See Publication 17 for additional rules for claiming an exemption for a dependent.
I would let him take you to court. You can ask for him to pay lawyers fees, if his lawyer even advises him to go through with it. If he doesn't ever have your daughter at his place, then he has no legal right to claim her on his taxes.
one note of caution. Everybody gets in a world of chaos if he were to actually file and claim her BEFORE you do. You'll both get audited when her social comes up twice. So, you need to file the VERY FIRST Day you can. That way, he is the duplicate file and he will get audited first. If you can prove he wasn't legally able to claim her (ie Tax fraud), you probably won't get audited.
Good Luck.
It is usually every OTHER year, alternating years.
Typically if anything the court will make it so that one parent claims the child on even years the other on the odd year. However, seeing as though he's making no other contributions I do not know for certain how the court will rule but I see it highly unfair for them to rule for anything in his favor.
Good luck!
I doubt they will let him claim her every year, most likely they will have you split everyother year.
Compromise with him - every other year on taxes.
It should be in your written child support agreement who claims her on taxes. Its written on mine.
Do you have a child support agreement in writing? Or does he just give you money and call it child support? These are two completely separate things.
If you do not have an agreement through the court, run, don't walk, and hire an attorney to represent your interests!!!!!
Rulings vary from case to case, so there is no set answer for your question. In my case, I have primary physical custody of my son with his father having liberal visitation rights. I claim my child on taxes as he lives with me.
But, again, every case is different.
You need to hire an attorney to protect your interests...instead of just hoping that the court will rule for you.
Good Luck
God Bless
I can't say what the court will do in your case. But in my divorce, I claim our 2 minor children on my tax return. They live with me and my ex pays child support. He also makes the higher income. So it surprised me when it was given to me. We have joint custody and I am the residential parent.
Uh...I doubt it!
The parent that is able to claim the child LEGALLY is the one the child lives with over half of the year (I think it is 51%, or 187 days). Even if he visited every weekend and all summer long, you would still have your daughter the rest of the time. Good luck!!
As others have stated the court may grant him every other year. His unwillingness to see her may change or may not. Visitation and child support are separate issues.
I would advise against going to court without legal representation. Get an attorney.
A.,
The best advice I can give you is to hire an attorney. Find ways to come up with the money or a payment arrangement. There is nothing so important as your daughter, consider this an investment.
No one on here knows the ins and outs of your case, and it would be an attorney's job to do so. He or she could help you try to get that child support you and your child deserve, and they will be able to make sure nothing unfair happens to during the court proceedings.
Good luck to you!!
Typically, in this kind of case where 1 parent doesn't even have visitation much less custody; no. Usually the parent who has total physical custody claims them on their taxes.
Occasionally, yes. Usually in this case parents are ordered onto a 'every other year' plan with one parent claiming them as a dependent 1 year, and the other parent claiming them the next.
