This is very interesting!
YET family court judges routinely issue orders that compel custodial parents to relinquish their right to the child tax deduction and allow the non custodial to claim it. I have personally experienced this in the Maricopa County Family Court system and my attorney tells me that this is what the judges always and routinely do and the problem is is that nobody is willing to challenge it because they are concerned that the judge will then retaliate and issue out even more detrimental orders or take custody away. I realize that this topic probably is not of very much interest to the average person on this blog however if you are a parent and you’ve ever been in a position where are you were very concerned about your child and their welfare while in the care of the other parent because they have a history of DV or mental health or substance abuse or addiction, you might understand that this ratchets up ones anxiety about challenging the order even though the order is not in accord with IRS law what the simple reason that you know that if you challenge an order issued by a judge they may be inclined to retaliate and punish you in a way that actually ends up punishing your child.
I am very aware that if I refuse to sign the form or allow my ex to take the child tax deduction even though he is the noncustodial parent that he would drag me back in the family court and asked the judge to find me in contempt of court. Effectively I would be in contempt of court because that was one of her orders even though it conflicts with IRS laws.
My ex for years has been allowed the child tax deduction even though he is the noncustodial parent and I never signed the form allowing him to take the child tax deduction because he did not pay all his child support that year but his CPA submitted his tax forms without his signature with no problem.
I personally know people who are custodial parents and they have been ordered to sign the form and The Family Court judge has ordered them to allow the noncustodial parent you claim the child and because the custodial parent to refused to sign the form because the noncustodial parent was behind in their child support - the custodial parent was punished in the way of losing custodial time and being threatened with being put in jail for contempt of court.
I am going to consult with a tax attorney and I am going to share what I find out In hopes that Information that I am able to find from an expert may help others on here
