father thinks he has tha right to claim son on taxes

I live in ohio. in Ohio there is a revised code that any unwed female who gives birth to the child has sole custody. If this is true then how come my 2 year old son's father has claimed him on his taxes the last 2 years? I should have the right not him although he does come take his son on his one night a week and every other weekend but he does not take care of him day in and day out. he hardly ever pays child support. What can I do?

contact a legal aid agency in your community (in virginia)whoever has costody of the child is the one who claims the child for tax purposes. my husband has a son from a previous relationship. the child lives with his mother therefore she claims him. check the law in your state. if it is the same their then i would contact the irs. that should hit the father between the eyes.

I know that in my state ( florida) -- and i assumed all other states as well- that you can claim a child(ren) for either 12 mo. or 6 mo. meaning that if you are the custodial parent that provides the primary care and are the primary resident for 12 mo you can claim the child for 12 mo. if it is a half and half thing -- meaning each of you has him/her around 6 mo each. then you can claim him/her for 6 mo.and the other parent claims 6 mo. see?? so if the child did not reside with the non-primary parent then he/she has no right to claim the child(ren) on their taxes. reguardless of who pays who support. try to discuss this with the non-custodial parent ahead of time if you wish to share the responsibility . thats what we do here. I get to deal with 2 x-wives and 4 step kids - trust me i know all about this thing .