Legal Question in Family Law in Tennessee
Divorce Decree and Child Income Tax Deduction
My ex and I were divorced in February of 2001. At the time, we were given joint-custody of our child who is currently 17 yrs of age. In the decree, it states that each parent will claim the child ''every other year'' with the father claiming him on the ''even years'' and the mother claiming him on the ''odd years''. Our son lived with each of us jointly for the first 7 years of our divorce and everything has worked fine. (We only live a mile apart.) This past tax year, our son decided he wanted to spend more time with his mother. We both agreed that this would be OK. However, according to divorce decree, I still pay for insurance until 18th birthday and half of uncovered medical expenses, etc. The 2008 tax year is a year that I should be claiming our son. I received a call yesterday from my ex informing me that ''she'' would be claiming him this year because she is now the ''custodial parent'' . . . No papers were ever signed to change the decree. While our son has admittedly lived with her MORE this year, how is she able to independently change the dependant agreement spelled out in the divorce decree? I contacted the IRS and they say she ''probably can''t, but that it depends 3 criteria. Can you elaborate about this for me?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Divorce Decree and Child Income Tax Deduction
Without arguing over which one of you is allowed under the court order to claim the tax deduction, since the child has been primarly with the mother and the parenting responsibilities changed, isn't it only fair that the parent the child is living with get the deduction?
You probably could go to court and press the issue, and you might even win, but if you do, you also need to be ready to face having the mother modify the order regarding child support -- you would likely end up doing far worse off with the tax deduction and increased child support than you are without the tax deduction.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
