HofH in divorce decree

[Jesse]

Is this something new?

It irks me to no end when the divorce decree dictates the Head of Household status. This year I have 3 different decrees that actually state in some form "The petitioner shall be authorized to claim head of household status" or "The respondent shall be authorized to claim head of household status".

When I asked State of Wisconsin I received an email stating divorce decree rules for HOH and EIC. This just seems wrong!

For Federal, if I tell my client they are entitled to the HOH because of physical placement am I jeopardizing court action with the ex?

[spanel]

Im not sure a court can dictate if a client can file HOH or EIC. I would be almost positive this would not hold up to the IRS. What dictates those is if the taxpayer has a dependent living with them or not.

Chris

Far as im aware all the court can say is that a taxpayer can claim a child for tax purposes or not. Something wierd is going on up there in Wisconsin.

[Jesse]

Totally agree with you.

In my opinion the lawyer should be penalized for writing it in the decree to begin with!

[taxdude71]

I've seen this a number of times also. Basically it's some judge thinking they have more power than they do (or not understanding what they are doing). I'ts basically uninforcable.

[thomtax]

My son is going through much of this. My understanding is that the IRS does not recognize state court rulings. They have their own rules that they go by. It is primarily a device to give one party some leverage in case they want to press contempt charges and/or make life difficult for the other party. This, I think, would be like stating that non-custodial parent can claim the child. IRS does not recognize this right unless form 8332 is provided..

LT