Legal Question in Family Law in New York
Hi, My husband and I divorced back in 2004. The divorce decree states, "The parties will take the children as dependents for federal and state income tax purposes in alternate years and the parties shall sign any documents necessary to effectuate this paragraph. The Husband will take the children for the year 2004 as the first alternate year. In the event that the parties agree to file joint income tax returns for the year 2004, the alternating years will begin with the year 2005 and the Husband will take the children for the year 2005. If the parties file jointly for the year 2004, they will split any refunds equally. If the parties do not file jointly for the year 2004, the Wife may take all of the deductions for the year 2004 attributable to the marital domicile." Our children are ages 27, 25 and 19. The older 2 file their own taxes however the 19 year old lives with me full-time while in college. Child support stopped when they turned 18. My ex-husband plans on claiming the 19 year old as a dependent on his 2012 taxes. Is this acceptable? Thank you, Jo-Anne
1 Answer from Attorneys
Is he continuing to pay child support for your 19 year old? If he is attending college full time then your ex-husband should be paying child support until he turns 21. Also, does your agreement state that he needs to be current on his child support obligation in order to take the deduction? It would be helpful to see your divorce agreement to give you the best legal advice.