Yes, that is correct. The IRS only cares about actual nights the child spent with each parent, and to claim any tax benefits, that time has to be MORE than half the year, so you both you and mom cannot say that. Separated parents cannot split up tax credits (other than in the rare scenario I described above with the 8332 Form). Only one of you can use all of the dependents tax benefits each year.
All of the credits are generated from the ''How many months did the dependent live with you in 2020?'' question. If you both tried to do 6 months - neither of you would qualify for anything. So, in your situation, one parent will report 7 or more months and claim everything for that year (that is Mom this year). This is how you should do it every year if you two agree. When I say agree, I am not talking about the question in TurboTax about the ''agreement'' with the other parent and the 8332 form - that is only for the rare situation where you can split the credits. You two are just separated parents that will choose each year who will be the custodial parent - that parent will claim all the credits.
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