Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

IRS returns

I just found out thru the papers submitted by my stbx from discovery that he claimed our daughter on his tax return for 2005. I did too. We had separated Dec 15, 05. I have documentation and witness statements that I paid for her expenses, activities, groceries, etc as we had separate accounts. Also, during discovery, I can't figure out what his exact income is!! He stated on two home loan apps that it is over $5K per mo. and yet for child support, he's stating it's only $2K!

Can I subpoena his tax returns?

And I don't want to get in trouble for both of us claiming our daughter, but I was granted physical custody and he was even denied visitation due to the outcome of a CPS investigation.

Thank you for your time


Asked on 4/03/08, 12:49 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Sher Wagshal and Sher

Re: IRS returns

First of all, the two of you are foolish to be filing separate tax returns while you are still legally married. You're both paying more in taxes than you would otherwise be obligated.

As to the legal issue you raised, for ty'05, since you were together for most of the year in the same household, the law says whoever contributed the majority of your daughter's support is entitled to the deduction. At this juncture, I'd wait to see if you get audited, and then be prepared to prove your entitlement. Once you are awarded physical custody, you are entitled to the exemption unless you sign an IRS form assigning it to him.

You can certainly obtain your stbx's tax returns through the discovery process. If you have legal representation, your attorney should already have done this. You can also demand the loan applications to demonstrate his lack of credibility on this issue.

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Answered on 4/03/08, 2:20 pm


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