Filing Desertion after divorce & ex claimed both kids when suppose to claim 1

[trabay86]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Tennessee

My divorce was final earlier this year and my ex-wife is claiming she is going to file desertion on me. I pay my child support & see my kids. Does she even have a leg to stand on? I've never heard of someone filing desertion AFTER the divorce is final.

On another note, in the divorce papers, she is only suppose to claim one of our children on her taxes, but she went ahead and claimed both of them. What is my recourse? Whom do I contact?

 

[mistoffolees]

If the divorce was final, I can't see how desertion would be an issue. What are the specifics (does it have something to do with a claim that you're interfering with child custody, for example?)

As for the taxes, you can file for her to be held in contempt and reimburse you for the amount you would have saved on your taxes if you had had that deduction. At the same time, ask the court to order her to sign an 8332 form which will give you the right to claim that child. She can either sign it every year or sign it with a permanent waiver of her right to claim the child.

What you can not do is claim the child on your own taxes - unless you meet the IRS requirements for claiming that child. The divorce court can not overrule IRS rules, so you would be submitting a fraudulent return. You need an 8332 form to override the IRS defaults.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Tennessee

My divorce was final earlier this year and my ex-wife is claiming she is going to file desertion on me. I pay my child support & see my kids. Does she even have a leg to stand on? I've never heard of someone filing desertion AFTER the divorce is final.

On another note, in the divorce papers, she is only suppose to claim one of our children on her taxes, but she went ahead and claimed both of them. What is my recourse? Whom do I contact?

The desertion bit is ridiculous, just ignore that. If you completely disappeared from the children's lives (including paying child support) your parental rights could be terminated involuntarily under some circumstances, but that's all.

On the tax side of things, in a divorce situation the non-custodial parent may claim children on a tax return, but only if the custodial parent agrees or is ordered by the court to give the ncp a signed form 8332.

However, the non-custodial parent may claim only the child's exemption and the child tax credit. The CP may still claim the child for head of household purposes, EIC, and daycare credits.

So, if the CP claimed the child's exemption and the child tax credit, then the CP is in violation of the court orders, and your recourse is to file for contempt of court. However, if your return got rejected because you also claimed head of household status and EIC, then you need to try refiling claiming only what the tax code allows you to claim before filing for contempt. Otherwise, you could end up in court with egg on your face.

Also...FYI, the IRS's definition of a custodial parent may be different than yours or your state court's. Under the tax code the custodial parent is the parent with whom the child spends the most nights in a given year.