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Blahism

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Florida- Dad .. mother and son in Oregon.

Hey there!

Okay - my husband will be having paternity and child support established in April.

To establish child support they will be needing his tax returns, correct?

::sigh:: Well, my lovely husband put another family members child on his '04 tax returns. Apparently it was something his mom was doing as well. The child belongs to his sister - who now has seven children. They say they put her children on their tax returns so they could give the amount to the mother (sister). Why the mom (sister) couldn't put them on her own tax returns is beyond me. Just sounds fishy.

So this time around - I begged my husband not to do it again.. because it's ILLEGAL and if you ever get audited you are screwed. Of course- he and his mom stood strong that an audit would NEVER happen.

So this past tax return '05 - oh lovely husband did it again! Even though he said he wasn't but meekly admitted it later.

Now - when they are establishing child support for my husband.. what situation could arise from this phantom child being on his tax return?

Thanks to all responses!What is the name of your state?
 


Child support is based on income; not deductions on an individual's tax returns. However, you've got some serious liability there if you're filing jointly with this man.
 

ceara19

Senior Member
Blahism said:
Nope. Not filing jointly.
Maybe it's time for you to start looking into divorce lawyers, just in case. First, your husband keeps commiting tax fraud and now a child has popped up from nowhere. You might want to look into protecting yourself from liability before something else comes up.
 

Blahism

Junior Member
;) Hey there!

Appreciate your response. But nah - no divorce. The babe was with a prior girlfriend before he and I met. I knew about his baby before we married. Honestly - I think it was poor decision and lack of knoweledge on his part when it came to the tax returns. He didn't fully grasp the consequences. At least I hope that's what it was and I'm not sportin' rose colored glasses.

He seems pretty shook about the prospect that the court may have something to say about the child on his tax return. (So I don't plan on telling him they are looking only at his income :cool: )

He says he isn't going to do it again and this time he means it. Well - come to think of it.. that's what he said last time -only after I made a big production out of it.


grr
 

ceara19

Senior Member
When the judge looks at his returns, he doesn't care about anything but the income. But her attorney gets to look at them too. I don't know how well the mother knows your husband or what her feeling about him are, but there's always the possibility that SHE could call the IRS and give them the information if she's mad at him AND knows that the child isn't really his dependant. You could always black out any information on the return that's not relative to how much he makes before he hands it over. There shouldn't be any issue as long as all of the information needed to set the support is still there.
 

Blahism

Junior Member
Good to know.

So I'm guessing the tax returns the judge and her lawyer review do not have to be the originals? They can be copies? Also- it wont look suspicious that certain things are blacked out?

Thanks for your replies!
 

ceara19

Senior Member
Blahism said:
Good to know.

So I'm guessing the tax returns the judge and her lawyer review do not have to be the originals? They can be copies? Also- it wont look suspicious that certain things are blacked out?

Thanks for your replies!
He just has to submit a copy. His identifying information and income information must be left on the return, but any other information not needed for the case at hand can be blacked out. It not really all that unusual either. When I was married, I ALWAYS blacked out all of my and my children's personal information before I would send a copy of the tax return when my husband's child support was being reviewed. If her lawyer even brings it up, the judge will want to know WHY the lawyer needs the information before he will even ask why it's blacked out.

If the judge does ask, all your husband needs to tell him is that due to the fact that the return will be included in the court record, he does not want to risk the possibility of someone's identity being stolen and used for criminal purposes when that person is not a party to the court proceedings.

The fact that many counties are going digital with alot of information is more then enough to justify it. In my county, I can look through civil court cases on line. In under a minute I can have every bit of information on a person that I would need to steal their ID. Name, address, phone number, DL#, SS#, personal history like marriage, divorce, children, vehicle registration and property ownership is all right there at my fingertips to look at as I please. A person isn't even required to register with the site before getting it and there is no system set up to capture a persons IP information when they go to the site. Most people have no idea how much of their personal lives are out there on display for the whole world to see.
 

CandiceH

Member
ceara19 said:
He just has to submit a copy. His identifying information and income information must be left on the return, but any other information not needed for the case at hand can be blacked out. It not really all that unusual either. When I was married, I ALWAYS blacked out all of my and my children's personal information before I would send a copy of the tax return when my husband's child support was being reviewed. If her lawyer even brings it up, the judge will want to know WHY the lawyer needs the information before he will even ask why it's blacked out.

If the judge does ask, all your husband needs to tell him is that due to the fact that the return will be included in the court record, he does not want to risk the possibility of someone's identity being stolen and used for criminal purposes when that person is not a party to the court proceedings.

The fact that many counties are going digital with alot of information is more then enough to justify it. In my county, I can look through civil court cases on line. In under a minute I can have every bit of information on a person that I would need to steal their ID. Name, address, phone number, DL#, SS#, personal history like marriage, divorce, children, vehicle registration and property ownership is all right there at my fingertips to look at as I please. A person isn't even required to register with the site before getting it and there is no system set up to capture a persons IP information when they go to the site. Most people have no idea how much of their personal lives are out there on display for the whole world to see.
Ceara: That scares me to death. I hate knowing that mine and my childrens names, addresses and SS#s are public knowledge. FYI: My ex also blacked out information on his tax returns. Wasnt an issue since the income was all that was needed!
 

ceara19

Senior Member
CandiceH said:
Ceara: That scares me to death. I hate knowing that mine and my childrens names, addresses and SS#s are public knowledge. FYI: My ex also blacked out information on his tax returns. Wasnt an issue since the income was all that was needed!
It's incredible what you can find out for free on the internet. In most civil court situations in Texas, you can actually pay a "privacy fee" to keep all of the information in your case sealed except for the purely statistical facts (sex, age, type of case, etc.). It ranges from $50 - $250, depending on the county and type of case, but when it is available, it's worth every penny.
 

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