keep my info safe

[momPattiWilliams]

I have left my husband, I will be filing for a divorce, I am afraid he might still try claiming our children and file for taxes on his own, how do I protect my children's and my information, and how do I report to the IRS, are you able to assist me?

[xmasbaby0]

You have not said how long ago you stopped living with your spouse.  IF you live apart for at least the last six months of 2019 and the children are with you, then you can file as Head of Household.  If it has been less than 6 months then your filing choices will be to file married filing  jointly or married filing separately.  

If you do not qualify to file HOH, then hope you are getting some legal advice ASAP, because you will need it.  We cannot give legal advice here.  

Here are the "rules" that you have to follow if you file MFS:

JOINT vs. SEPARATE RETURNS 2018 and beyond

If you were legally married at the end of 2019 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately.

Married Filing Jointly is usually better, even if one spouse had little or no income. When you file a joint return, you and your spouse will get the married filing jointly standard deduction of $24,400 (+$1300 for each spouse 65 or older)  You are eligible for more credits including education credits, earned income credit, child and dependent care credit, and a larger income limit to receive the child tax credit.

If you choose to file married filing separately, both spouses have to file the same way—either you both itemize or you both use standard deduction. Your tax rate will be higher than on a joint return. Some of the special rules for filing separately include: you cannot get earned income credit, education credits, adoption credits, or deductions for student loan interest. A higher percent of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. Your limit for SALT (state and local taxes and sales tax) will be only $5000 per spouse. In many cases you will not be able to take the child and dependent care credit. The amount you can contribute to a retirement account will be affected. If you live in a community property state, you will be required to provide additional information regarding your spouse’s income. ( Community property states:  AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI) If  you are using online TurboTax to prepare your returns, you will need to prepare two separate returns and pay twice.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-married-filing-jointly-vs-married-filing-separately

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901162-married-filing-separately-in-community-property-states

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-separ...

IF you do file HOH and your spouse files first and claims the children, you will have to print, sign and mail your return claiming the children.  Then the IRS sorts out who should have claimed them.

[BMcCalpin]

In terms of "protecting" your information and that of your children, the best thing you can do is to file your tax return as soon as you can. Thus, for 2020, file your 2019 return as soon as the IRS opens the filing season in January 2020 (like, in the third week of January). The first person to file with the dependents' Social Security numbers is allowed to e-file; the second person will be unable to e-file and will have to paper file (print the return and mail it). As xmasbaby0 notes, if both of you try to take the children as dependents on your separate returns, then the IRS will indeed have to sort the whole thing out - however, the first person to file will get the refund (if any) first.

I agree that you may need some legal advice here, given that divorce decrees can assign rules by which the divorced spouses may or may not be able to claim the children.