Legal Question in Family Law in Arizona

Re: Who gets the tax deduction?

Under Arizona law, he has no right to claim the child if he is not current in his child support obligation for that year.

If he is current, then the expemtions should be divided as ordered. If there is no order, then there are arguments which can be made both ways. You could argue that he has NO rights, since none were specified. He could argue that he should get a proportional share of the exemptions, as indicated in the statewide child support guidelines.

Please contact me directly if you would like to discuss this further, or to discuss your options for preoceeding.

/s/ Rich J. Peters.

[email protected]

Also, see our website at www.familylawaz.com

Re: Who gets the tax deduction?

In AZ, the exemptions are generally divided in proportion to the parties' incomes. However, in order for the child-support-paying spouse to be entitled to take their exemption, they must be current in all payments for that year. If 2001 would be "his" year and he has made his 2001 payments (even if he has arrearages from a prior year), he can take the exemption for that year.

If there is no language in your decree or child support order, you still might be able to claim your child under the IRS "guidelines" since you are the primary parent, but if he takes you to court to fight the exemption, the judge might apply the AZ (proportionate share of income) law.

If you were both to claim your child for the same year, the IRS would send you both a letter saying something like, "if this is not your year, please amend; if this is your year, no further action is required."

One way or another, he does not have an "automatic" right to claim her half the time.