Has Anyone Ever Let the Noncustodial Parent Claim a Child?

ask a tax attorney.
it's sort of a pointless question since he's in arrears and doesn't have custody and you're not okay with it.
khairete
S.

I don't know why anyone would do this? I have sole custody of our 2 kids. I have a court hearing on Friday because my ex owes me over 33k in child support.

The judge told me during our divorce hearing that we could "split" the kids on our taxes since we have 2 and asked me which one I wanted. However, in AZ, if the dad is behind AT ALL in child support then the mom can claim all the kids until he is current. That's what I've been doing for the last 9 years.

So I guess I don't know why you are asking about "letting" him do anything. It's all in a court order, or should be. If not, go back to court so it's in black and white and there is no question about it. I also think it's stupid of a man to do this if his ex "lets" him. Especially if it's against the court order. It's for EVERYONE'S protection that you put these orders in place. JMO. Good luck.

I've never heard of anyone doing this. Why would they? If your ex is pushing you, stand firm. Don't cave. If he's giving you a hard time, figure out something to do about that.

What does your lawyer say?

Did you really mean to present so many assumptions? The way you worded this really rubs me the wrong way. Makes me want to point out not all of us reproduced with deadbeats. I can assure you that even when my ex claimed 2 of our 4 kids there is no way in hell he would get the earned income tax credit. Heck he couldn't even get the child tax credit, just the deduction. I got the earned income tax credit for the first two years even then I lost it because I was earning too much. Now I lost the child tax credit, oh whoa is me, right? I am not complaining about my situation I am quite happy with life.

Still when the man is supporting half the kids of course he should get half the deductions. I don't understand why women sometimes think they just get all the deductions.

Wanting to add that yes, it is spelled out in the decree. It is what is fair. I am not sure what happens here if the spouse in in arrears, my ex never has been behind.

I know that a custodial parent can also waive the EIC with Form 8332, but that's one I've never witnessed happen. I don't know what circumstance would make that a desirable option.

It is more typical for divorced parents to have an agreement to claim a child every-other-year to get the Child Tax Credit.

There are potential problems with doing it though. Such an arrangement is often not compliant with tax law, which is clear on the issue. Whichever parent the child physically lives with for more than half of the year can claim.

The IRS usually won't get up in someone's business if they do a parental switch-off unless one parent complains or they both try to claim the child in the same year. If the IRS has to audit, the parent with more custody time will win regardless of a court custody arrangement. Family courts can't enforce something that goes against tax law.

Well it's not just to claim the EIC, it would be to claim the child, period. We had one year when we had way more than 50% custody of our step-daughter but we let her mother claim her anyway because her income was much lower than ours. We had her run her return with and without claiming SD and we did the same and it translated into a bigger discount to have her claim her, so we let her claim her and then she was supposed to pay us what we would have gotten and keep the remainder. She probably didn't but it's water under the bridge at this point. Also if the non-custodial parent pays for childcare, she or he can't get the childcare deduction unless they claim the child as a dependent, so some couples might work it out for that reason.

When my husband and I file our divorce papers, it will most likely be with an agreement that we can each claim one our two sons each year even though I'll technically be the custodial parent to both of them. This will allow us to both claim head of household and maximize our deductions as single filers.

Well, I am not sure of what your question is exactly about. I don't know what EIC is.

IF the child was not taken from this parent through the courts they have not lost any rights to their children and in Oklahoma all they have to do is file a paper stating they want the guardianship terminated. The judge looks at it, if there are any questions about the legality such as making sure the parent still has legal rights to the child, and then they grant it.

IF that parent never lost their legal rights to their child then no one has a LEGAL reason to prohibit them from coming in and taking them.

Now, IF the parent did go through the system and the child was taken from them but they never had their parental rights removed, BY THE JUDGE, then they still can come back when they're doing better and ask for their children to be returned. In Oklahoma all guardianship is temporary. Until those parental rights have been removed legally they are still that child's parents. They don't have physical custody of them until they go back to court BUT they have not lost their rights to their children.

I think you need to talk to the people that put the kids in your home and see an attorney about your state laws.