My husband has two children from a previous marriage and they have lived with all for the last 4 1/2 years and not even seen their mother (she does pay $400 a month in child support). Originally in the divorce it said that they would take turns claiming the children every other year...but that was in the joint custody agreement....
My question is that she has not kept up her end of the joint custody agreement. She hasn't even seen or visited them in 4 1/2 years. The IRS website says that who ever the child lives with more of the year should be able to claim them. Can my husband and I claim the kids without getting in trouble with the IRS?
I thought that if we both claimed them we would probably get audited. But the IRS would see that they haven't seen or lived with her in over four years and say we have the right to claim them. I am going to be so mad if she gets to claim them when she hasn't even been in their life for over 4 years.
What should we do?
2007-01-15 02:29:39 · 6 answers · asked by ~*SuMmEr*~ 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
~Brianswife~
In regard to your question this is an inquiry by both my husband and I. He is actually going to call IRS tomorrow to find out for sure...they are closed today.
As far as your other statement....the kids only know me as their mother. I have taken care of them since they were 1 1/2 & 2 1/2 years old. Their mom isn't in the picture and has no desire to be. The kids only know me as mommy and I do everything with them from taking care of them to school & medical. I do have legal power of attorney as well.
2007-01-15 03:22:10 · update #1
You need to get that agreement amended, otherwise it will stand. The IRS tiebreaker rules apply only when there's nothing in writing to say who claims the children.
I know, not fair. But life is that way sometimes.
2007-01-15 03:02:00 · answer #1 · answered by Judy 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
There may be a delay in receiving your benefits if both of you claim them. I agree that you and your husband have the right to claim them, but be sure you cover your A S S when you do. A red flag will go up if the children are claimed more than once, so visit your local IRS office and explain your dilemma to a representative so that the flag isn't on your end.
Out of curiosity is this your inquiry, or are you and your husband curious? This is a sticky issue, and although you've been raising these kids for 41/2 years and have the right to this inquiry, these types of situations tend to add stress to relationships with children. Be careful of the things you talk about in front of them regarding this issue (and any other issue involving their mother for that matter). Children are very intuitive and although she doesn't deserve the pride they have for her, they need to make that decision for themselves. If you bash her they'll feel the need to defend her, but if you don't, it'll be easier for them to see, on their own, that she doesn't deserve their love.
2007-01-15 11:16:25 · answer #2 · answered by Bryan's Wife 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If there is a valid child custody agreement, then that dictates who can claim the children. In the circumstances, sounds like you should be able to go to court and get the custody agreement amended, this could be helpful to you later if some other issue comes up with her wanting to take the kids on a trip etc also.
2007-01-15 14:36:52 · answer #3 · answered by growing inside 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Judy is right as always, but let me ask you a question. Does the divorce decree attach any DIRECT condition to the dependency exemption? For example, does it say that IF she is current on her child support THEN she can claim the exemption? If there are ANY conditions attached to the dependency exemption, even if they are met by the non-custodial parent, then the IRS won't consider it binding. The part of the divorce decree dealing with who can claim the kids as dependents has to be without any conditions whatsoever, because the IRS does not want to get involved with whether or not the conditions were met.
So if there are any direct conditions attached to the dependency exemption in the divorce decree, then you may be able to claim your stepchildren.
2007-01-15 11:35:38 · answer #4 · answered by Mr. Zimmer 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When i filed i used www.expresstaxrefund.com and just followed the prompts for dependents. In your case you should be able to claim them under your taxes, but you can call them on the free tech support and find out if you can claim them.
2007-01-15 11:02:51 · answer #5 · answered by smith j 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
the person with whom the children live with for most of the year can claim the children for tax purposes. in your case that would be your husband.
(have you thought of adopting the children as their legal parent?)
2007-01-15 11:29:25 · answer #6 · answered by steve 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋