Q. Which parent is allowed to claim the children on taxes?
A. It depends! We will discuss why below.
Once a divorce is finalized, ex-spouses will enter into a divorce settlement agreement. Often times, this includes a time-sharing agreement, as well as, other arrangements the parties have agreed upon regarding various aspects of childrearing. One of the items included in your time-sharing agreement may include information on who gets to claim the children as dependents and on what schedule. There are many ways in which co-parents can determine an agreement on this, but more than likely, if there are no extenuating circumstances, parents will claim the children on their taxes on a year-by-year rotation. If there is more than one child, some parents decide to each claim one child every year.
Q. My ex-spouse went against our settlement agreement and claimed the children when they were not supposed to. What do I do?
A. When one parent claims children on their taxes against the established and recognized agreement, there are a few things the other parent can do. First things first, if you don't have an attorney, hire one. An attorney will be able to advise you on the next best legal steps you can take to remedy the situation. Your attorney can file a motion for contempt of court against the other parent, as well as, a motion for enforcement. This will compel the other parent to return any child credits they may have received to you. It can also include covering your attorneys fees for having to take them to court in the first place over their breech of the contract.
If you've found yourself in a situation where your ex-spouse has broken the agreement you've previously made, it's time to call Max Factor. Not only can the court enforce them to abide by the agreement they made, they may also face other repercussions if they continually fail to do so. Let Max take a look at your situation so that he can get you back on track and remove the headache from tax time!
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