Divorce decree please help

[meluckeycharms19]

I been divorced 4 years. We split the child 50/50 and alternate weeks. We are supposed to alternate tax season. My ex has not worked the whole time up till 3 months before the year ended. She tells me she filing taxes and if I do she will take me to federal court. She has failed to follow the decree except visitation. I have my child more nights and I buy all the clothes for both homes every tax season. And the mother is unemployed again she only worked to try to file taxes then quit. I already filed 2 weeks ago and she hits me with this today so am I in trouble 

[LightyearsBeyond]

Yuck!!! Just gotta love "ex's", I have an ex-wife myself.

Anyways, Im pretty sure she cannot take you to "federal court" over this. Your ex is trying to scare and intimidate you with idle-threats and so forth. My best advice would be to contact your attorney (if you had one for the divorce proceedings, etc)  If there was a LEGAL AGREEMENT in writing, and signed off and certified by the Superior Court where you dealt with all this then as long as YOU are abiding by and sticking to the divorce legal agreements and everything, and your ex is in breach of any of the said agreements, then ANY POSSIBLE legal ramifications will be ON him/her. Just do WHATEVER you are supposed to per the LEGAL agreements that were set forth in court, and if he/she is in violation of any of it, take the case back into court and you will be fine, but your ex will have some explaining to do before a judge. If how the two of you legally agreed upon or were court-ordered as far as how you guys are to file your taxes, just "stick with the script" so to speak, and if their in violation of any of it, that is totally on them. Judges and courts will usually work WITH YOU if they see that YOU are doing what you're supposed to, and they can create some pretty bad days for ex's who ARENT doing what they're supposed to, and they can see right through trouble-maker ex's who are just playing vindictive games  using the court/legal system as a "weapon" and those who are just frivolously wasting the court's time with their own self-created "drama". The Courts do not take kindly to such people. I know firsthand, it can be a BRUTAL, and sometimes grossly UNFAIR "game" you must play. But just "play" along with the "game" the Court set forth for you guys - play by THEIR RULES , and your ex can play by his/her own rules but sooner or later it WILL ALL come back to bite him/her in the butt. Hang in there as best you can, take my words to heart and you will be OK. Your ex can go jump in a lake.  Dont allow yourself to get sucked into the threats, and drama, and animosity that your ex is perpetuating on you. This IS WHAT he/she wants. Just let the threats and nastiness go in one ear and out the other. I hope that helps, and I wish you all the best!!

*LightyearsBeyond*

[meluckeycharms19]

The attorney I had his employee which handles everything for him said if she ain’t working then you have the year And can claim your daughter. It’s first come first serve she said. Turbo tax asked if their a decree and I said yes. It then asked if the ex spouse follows it I said no cause she don’t. She only follows visitation and that started this year cause my daughter was with me during week and only visiting her on weekends. Now we alternate weeks like order says. She only follows it when it suits her. I’m going back to court next year because my daughter turns 12 she wants to talk to the judge because she wants to live with me because she doesn’t want to live in a mama cause her mama doesn’t put her first and her needs first my daughter knows who takes care of her and gets what she needs And the judge will only listen to her when she’s 12 years old. Thank you for your advice

[LightyearsBeyond]

Hell yeah!!! I'm totally stoked for you on that. 

Trust me, this WHOLE THING WILL straighten itself out. What I mean is, as I said already, just keep up the good job doing the right thing by your daughter - it sounds like you are doing a fantastic job!! Just continue "playing the game" by the Courts rules and your legal rights and so forth. As far as your ex goes - PERFECT - she has NO IDEA but her not "playing by the rules" and the BS and problems she is TRYING to cause you is gonna ALL come back to haunt her particularly when y'all go back to Court when your daughter turns 12. Your ex has NO IDEA that she is literally creating her very OWN down-fall. Keep your chin up, keep doing a great job like you are, I know it sucks BAD but just continue playing the "game"  like you're supposed to (and sounds like you ARE DOING)  and in the end VICTORY will be YOURS . Stay focused, stay motivated, stay on your current trajectory - and SMILE in satisfaction at KNOWING that your ex is screwing herself over and she will be probably be in for the SHOCK of her LIFE when that court date finally does roll around, and it'll be here before you know it too. Your ex sounds much like my ex-wife too - particularly in the sense that BOTH of them ARE their OWN worst enemies!😂

[LeonardS]

It is not "first come first served" when it comes to claiming your daughter as a dependent on your tax return.

A qualifying child, dependent, is one who meets the following six tests [IRC Sec. 152(c)]:

1. Relationship.
2. Age.
3. Residency.
4. Support.
5. Joint return.
6. Tie-breaker test if the child is the qualifying child of more than one person.

Relationship test. The child must be the taxpayer’s:

•Son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, grandchild) or

•Brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, niece or nephew).

Adopted child. An individual legally adopted by the taxpayer or an individual lawfully placed with the taxpayer for legal adoption is treated as a child by blood.

Eligible foster child. An eligible foster child is one placed with the taxpayer by an authorized placement agency or by judgment, decree, or other order of any court of competent jurisdiction.

Age test. The child must be either:

•Under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than the taxpayer (or spouse if MFJ).

•Under age 24 at the end of the year, a full-time student and younger than the taxpayer (or spouse if MFJ). A full-time student is one who is enrolled full-time in school (but not online or correspondence schools) during any part of five calendar months during 2020 or took a full-time course of institutional on-farm training under the supervision of an accredited agency. In Ltr. Rul. 9838027, the IRS allowed the taxpayer to count the month of August when a student registered on August 28 but did not start classes until September 2.

•Any age if totally and permanently disabled.

Residency test. The child must have the same principal residence as the taxpayer for more than half of the tax year. Temporary absences due to special circumstances, including absences due to illness, education, business, vacation, or military service, are ignored.

Support test. The child cannot provide over half of his own support. A full-time student does not take into account taxable or nontaxable scholarship payments received in calculating the support test.

No joint return test. If married, the child must not have filed a joint return. Exception: If the only reason for filing a joint return is to claim a refund, the child meets the test.

Tie-breaker rules—qualifying child of more than one person. It’s possible that a child is the qualifying child of more than one person. In that case, the tie-breaker rules determine who can claim the child as their qualifying child (QC) [IRC Sec. 152(c)(4)].

[meluckeycharms19]

Well what you listed applies to me. My problem is not what you posted. My issue is what i posted needing help on. Thanks for it but that doesn’t help me with what i posted about

[DawnC]

No, you are not in any trouble for claiming your own child that lived with you for more than 6 months.   If you are qualified to claim the child as a dependent as per the above, you can do so.   If your ex also qualifies to claim the child, she can do so too, but the IRS is going to send you both letters and determine who needs to amend their return, remove the dependent and pay back any credits.   If you have already filed, she will have to file by mail and the IRS will work it out later, as only one of you will be allowed to claim the child.   There is no splitting of dependent credits.  

The general rule for qualifying children demands that the child live with you more than half the year and therefore children of divorced parents are usually dependents of the custodial parent.  "Custodial" parent definition under the IRS's rule (or for TAX purpose) is different from the court's definition.  For tax purposes, the custodial parent is usually the parent the child lives with the most nights.   

If you are both qualified to claim the child, the tiebreaker rules are as follows:

The child is generally treated as a qualifying child of:

• The parents if they file a joint return and claim the child a qualifying child;
• The parent if only one of the persons is the child's parent and the parent claims the child as a qualifying child;
• The parent with whom the child lived for the longer period of time during the tax year if two of the persons are the child's parents, they do not file a joint return together, and both parents claim the child.  
• The parent with the highest AGI if the child lived with each parent for the same amount of time during the tax year, they do not file a joint return together, and both parents claim the child;
• The person with the highest AGI if no parent can claim the child as a qualifying child; or
• The person with the highest AGI if a parent may claim the child as a qualifying child but no parent claims the child as a qualifying child, but only if that person has an AGI higher than any parent who may claim the child as a qualifying child.

What Happens When Both Parents Claim a Child on a Tax Return?