A mom writes in asking for advice after she told her daughter’s father that it was his year to claim their daughter on his taxes but when she did so he went to a courthouse to force her to sign a document that relinquishes her rights to claim her this year and years to come. Now she’s questioning if he is even allowed to do that because he only has their daughter every other weekend? What advice do you have for this fed-up mom?
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A member of the community asks:
“So it’s his year to claim our daughter on taxes and no big deal, I already did mine and didn’t claim her. He’s telling me now I need to sign this form that’s basically releasing my right to claim her, and it can be used for future years?! I’ve never had to sign anything before, so I said ‘no, I’m not signing it.’ Apparently, he went to the courthouse this morning to have them send it to me to make me sign it.
Is he technically even allowed to claim her on taxes when he only has her every other weekend?! Every time I do mine, it asks if I had her 50 percent of the time or how many months out of the year? So I’m assuming he’s lying when he does his about how much he has her, am I correct?! Then he tells me he will let me claim her every year, depending on how nice I am to him. And at the end of his year, he will decide if I behaved well enough and was respectful enough to him to let me claim her. [I’m] so fed up!!!”
– Mamas Uncut Community Member
Community Advice for This Mom Who Is Fed Up With Her Daughter’s Father’s Antics
To see what advice the Mamas Uncut Facebook community has for this mom in need, read the comments of the post embedded below.
Advice Summary
Many people in the community are urging this mom to seek professional guidance to make sure she is aware of her options.
One commenter said, “No do not sign!!! And u don’t have to let him claim her at all unless it was an agreement to alternate every other year that was legally signed!!!” Another person wrote, “If it’s court-ordered for him to claim opposite years and he’s trying to make you sign anything he’s violating a court order. There’s nothing you have to sign for him to claim her every other year. Just watch him next year. If it isn’t court-ordered, get it court-ordered.
One other person shared, “Talk to your lawyer and, if applicable, whoever does your taxes. There are 4 tests to establish that your daughter is a qualifying child you can claim: relationship, age, residence, and support. If your daughter lives with you all the time, except for the weekends the father has her, you’re good there. The last test, support, pertains to whether the child (not the dad) provides more than half the support. I don’t know how old she is, but I doubt if she provides any of her own support. So from where I stand (I am a retired accountant and completed a CPA Certification program), she appears to meet the criteria of a qualifying child. She cannot qualify for the father because she does not meet the residency test under the current custody arrangement. So unless your state allows exceptions to IRS rules, you ought to be able to claim her every year. But, like I said, consult your attorney (and CPA if you use one). Sounds to me like he’s trying to pull a fast one. But once again, it’s only my opinion and I’m not a licensed CPA (I did pull my book out to research it). Good luck!”
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