Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
I have been divorced since 2007. In the decree, for tax purposes I claimed my youngest as my dependent and my ex claimed our eldest. I would like to switch this. Do we need to do anything legally or can we just make this switch on our taxes ourselves?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Although many parents are reasonably trustworthy and can just make the switch themselves, the safest route is to each sign a statement to this effect, and file it with the court marked as a Rule 11 Agreement. There is also an IRS form which the parties both sign that reflect an agreement regarding the exemptions.
You cannot file a Rule 11 if there is no active case. You can go to irs.gov and get a copy of Form 8332 that will allow you to do this as long as both of you agree. Generally, the state courts do not interfere with federal tax law.