What if the mother, custodial parent, claimed our son on her 2020 tax return but has since died. Now, I have sole custody of our son. Please help...

[Joeyscott12144]

We were never married but not separated. I paid child support yet they began living with me most of 2020. I never argued about the dependent claim because she was the custodial parent and she helped me with my son. See my biggest worry is, my girlfriend's mother has all her banking cards, including the one that will likely be receiving the credits. If she gets those advances, doesn't that mean if were to claim it in 2021, I'd be responsible for the overpayment. There is no way the in-law will do the right thing. 

[Mike9241]

apparently, you are now the custodial parent so you can claim your son and file as head of household in 2021

you can claim him as a qualifying child if all these tests are met
• he has the same principal abode as you for more than ½ the tax year. Temporary absences like for school are ignored
• if he is not a full-time student, he's under 19 at the end of the tax year. If a full-time student, he's under 24 at the end of the tax year.
• he hasn't provided over ½ his own support
• he didn't file a joint return unless there was no tax liability but merely filing jointly to facilitate refund of taxes withheld or estimates paid

or you can claim him as a qualifying relative if all these tests are met
• his gross income for 2021 is less than $4,300
• you provided over ½ his support

[Joeyscott12144]

I understand that I can claim him on 2021's taxes. My question is what, if anything, can I do to receive the advance credit for 2020. She Will not be able to receive the advance; which means neither will our son.

[fanfare]

Please visit the IRS website for info on how to sign up for the payments.

[Joeyscott12144]

With all do respect, I have already tried that many many times. In fact, I went to the IRS before I went to TurboTax for answers from common people. You cannot not get a straight answer from their website or tools nor can you get anyone on the phone but thank you for trying.  Honestly, thank you.

[Hal_Al]

The IRS Portal  was only recently (June 23, 2021) activated.  Try again.  I'm not sure your situation is covered. You may  have to just wait until you file your 2021 return. 

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-announces-two-new-online-tools-to-help-families-manage-child-tax-cr...  

[Joeyscott12144]

Thank you so much for all of you guys' ideas but yes, I've been on the portal daily since its inception. It is very "generic" It doesn't allow you to contact them or change anything. It basically is a a glorified link to frequent Q&A. 

[fanfare]

Well, the actual app hasn't been turned on yet.

It should be coming soon.

Everything the IRS announced so far has been further delayed.

[Joeyscott12144]

No Sir. The portal and the Non-filers Portal are operational on www.irs.gov. The update portal will have more options and abilities added throughout the year. Ive not heard of any app in the making. 

[fanfare]

A16. You will be able to update certain information in the coming months:

*Date You Can Make Changes What You Can Do

June 21	Find out if you're eligible Unenroll from payments See a list your payments
Late June	Make changes to your bank information for your payments beginning in August
Early August	Make changes to your address
Late summer	Make changes to your dependents, marital status and income Re-enroll if you previously unenrolled

* Dates subject to changeI

For any of the above to work, it must be made available through something other than the non-Filer portal.

[Critter-3]

Ok ... only part of the portal is working and the part you need to sign up for the advance payments is NOT yet working  so you will have to wait on that  to become active    OR   if you are claiming the child on the 2021 return you can get the full credit then.

As to the late parent ... that is not your concern any longer unless it is your responsibility to file their final return.   It is unlikely they will send payments to a deceased person but even if they did it will not affect your right to the credit on the return even if you don't get the payments in advance.  

[Joeyscott12144]

Yes thank you for showing me what I've already read 15 times on the IRS website and like I said before I did file in 2019 and 20 as did she. So Non-filers is not going to help me. Thank you guys for your help but this is above you as I can see so I will try to get a professional.

[Joeyscott12144]

How are they going to know that she's deceased? She's already filed her 2020 tax return so as far as they're concerned she's irrelevant to them besides this credit. And if they send the money to her account for the tax credit with our son as the dependent then how could I possibly claim it again. If they send it, and it gets spent through the mother-in-law, there's no way I can claim it again.

But thank you for having the most logical answer of the day.

[fanfare]

I will go away now.

[SteamTrain · Accepted solution]

Not sure if you will be able to sign up for the early payments....that's all a mess right now.

BUT....since you two were not married, you were probably filing your own taxes as "Single" all along  (Correct?).....and she was filing her own tax returns all along.

So ......if the advance child credit payments go in to her accounts under her mother's control, you would likely not be responsible for re-paying them since they are not connected to you.  Those repayments would have to be dealt with by whoever handles her estate and her final tax return for 2021.  (Not sure if the IRS is coordinating SS# death records or not when sending out those advance payments)

IF you can claim as a dependent your son for  2021, and aren't able to get those advance payments set up for yourself for the next 6 months, then you would still be able to claim the payment on your final tax return for 2021 when you file in early 2022.