Legal Question in Family Law in Oklahoma
Grandparents rights over divorce decree
My daughter got custody of her three sons & in the divorce decree the father could claim two of them on his taxes. We (the grandparents) have had the children for over two years, without benefit of child support. Nearly 4 months ago, we pressured our daughter to sign guardianship papers so we could take care of the school & health needs of the boys. Since that time we have started getting child support from the father. We claimed the boys last year on our income tax, but the father wants to this year. Are we legally bound by the original divorce decree. Since we did not receive support from the father, and we carry them on our health insurance, can we claim the boys?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Grandparents rights over divorce decree
That is a sticky question. There is no set black and white answer. You stated that you pressured her to sign guardianship papers. Was this a Court proceeding or just a paper that you wrote up? If it was not a Court proceeding, then realistically, you need to ask the Court for a Guardianship and that will end the matter. However, as long as you are just "taking care" of the kids, it comes down to whether or not you are bound to the agreement in the decree. I would say that you probably are, even though the IRS rules tell us that whomever is providing more than 50% of the support gets to claim them. That rule applies as between legal parents or guardians, which you are not.
From an IRS standpoint, you are not a legal parent or guardian, and therefore cannot claim the kids as dependants.
Bottom line here ... get an Attorney and petition the Court for Guardianship and let that be that. If she signs willfully, then great. If she does not, then so be it also, the Court will decide.
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