Divorced Couples

[ddoshan]

Is my logic correct? If a couple is divorced and have a child (who is a student) and reached the age of majority in March of 2014, am I correct in thinking that the one and only one that could claim the child is the Mom with whom the child lived all year. As the rules for divorced parents no longer apply once the child reaches the age of majority. So the divorce decree and or an 8332 would no longer be relevant. Dad would have no legitimate right to claim the child under any circumstances other than as a qualifying relative which would not apply because the child would be a qualifying child of mom. In past years the mom has always allowed the dad to claim the child based on the divorce decree terms. But this year she indicated she would like to claim even though she knows he will also.

My point being ... I don't see any way the dad would have any right based on the rules to claim the child even if mom said fine and did not. If so, how and under what rule would he be allowed the exemption.

[Gary2]

Is my logic correct? If a couple is divorced and have a child (who is a student) and reached the age of majority in March of 2014, am I correct in thinking that the one and only one that could claim the child is the Mom with whom the child lived all year. As the rules for divorced parents no longer apply once the child reaches the age of majority. So the divorce decree and or an 8332 would no longer be relevant. Dad would have no legitimate right to claim the child under any circumstances other than as a qualifying relative which would not apply because the child would be a qualifying child of mom. In past years the mom has always allowed the dad to claim the child based on the divorce decree terms. But this year she indicated she would like to claim even though she knows he will also.

My point being ... I don't see any way the dad would have any right based on the rules to claim the child even if mom said fine and did not. If so, how and under what rule would he be allowed the exemption.

Check the state law on the age of emancipation, which is not the same as the age of majority. In most states, they occur at the same age, but not all.

[ddoshan]

Thanks Gary but. Assuming all is kosher as far as age of majority etc, and the child reached age 18 in March of 2014, was a student, and lived with the Mom ... is the logic correct that there is no way dad no longer could claim the exemption under any circumstances. Just want to make sure I am not leading the mom down a troubled road here. In the past she has always allowed the dad to claim the child every year as he has always been current with child support etc. But because I brought this subject up she initially indicated she did not want to create any problems and did not want to claim her daughter. However, now after filing the return she is having a change of heart and wants to claim her daughter.

I am just curious if it is correct that in these situations that there is really no way the dad can claim the exemption. It seems odd to me, but the rules seem to indicate that it is so.

[Lion]

You are correct for tax returns. And if dad is paying college costs on behalf of child, might be considered as gift to child with education credits then available to mom!

Dad may have recourse in a civil court if divorce decree does not comply with tax law, but it would probably cost him more than he could recover from ex.

Been there, done that. It's a bummer when divorce decree was written prior to "new" definition of child for tax purposes.

[dtlee]

Thanks Gary but. Assuming all is kosher as far as age of majority etc, and the child reached age 18 in March of 2014, was a student, and lived with the Mom ... is the logic correct that there is no way dad no longer could claim the exemption under any circumstances. Just want to make sure I am not leading the mom down a troubled road here. In the past she has always allowed the dad to claim the child every year as he has always been current with child support etc. But because I brought this subject up she initially indicated she did not want to create any problems and did not want to claim her daughter. However, now after filing the return she is having a change of heart and wants to claim her daughter.

I am just curious if it is correct that in these situations that there is really no way the dad can claim the exemption. It seems odd to me, but the rules seem to indicate that it is so.

According to the IRS, no one has custody of a student for more than half the year if the child has attained the age of emancipation under local law that early in the year. Thus, I agree with you that the rules for Divorced and Separated Spouses does not apply.

She could file Form 8332 and the IRS would likely accept it, but technically she should not do this and is the only individual who likely can legally claim the child (not due to custody, but due to having the child residing with her). I believe at least one state has adjusted the age of emancipation to fit the IRS definition of a full-time student under age 24, but most have not.

I created this chart a while back so that I did not have to keep looking this up:
Divorced Parent Flowchart

[Koss]

Custody

I agree with Doug that neither parent is the custodial parent once the child reaches the age of majority. Therefore,Form 8332 becomes inoperative. As Doug said, the rules for divorced parents are no longer applicable. Modifying the language of the divorce decree does not change this. For a child who has become an adult, there is no such thing as a custodial parent, no matter what the divorce decree says.

What I don't get is all this talk about the age of emancipation. In many states, emancipation refers to a process by which a minor may be freed from parental control and custody before the age of majority, by petitioning the court. That's not relevant here.

Is the term emancipation found anywhere in the Internal Revenue Code??

I just don't see the relevance. The Code defines custodial parent, but I don't see how any variations in state law could change the fact that no one can possibly be the custodial parent of a person who has reached the age of majority.

BMK

[Gary2]

I agree with Doug that neither parent is the custodial parent once the child reaches the age of majority. Therefore,Form 8332 becomes inoperative. As Doug said, the rules for divorced parents are no longer applicable. Modifying the language of the divorce decree does not change this. For a child who has become an adult, there is no such thing as a custodial parent, no matter what the divorce decree says.

What I don't get is all this talk about the age of emancipation. In many states, emancipation refers to a process by which a minor may be freed from parental control and custody before the age of majority, by petitioning the court. That's not relevant here.

Is the term emancipation found anywhere in the Internal Revenue Code??

I just don't see the relevance. The Code defines custodial parent, but I don't see how any variations in state law could change the fact that no one can possibly be the custodial parent of a person who has reached the age of majority.

The IRC uses the word "custody". This isn't defined by the age of majority. It's defined by whether or not they're under the control of their parents, which means whether or not they're emancipated. Yes, there's a process called "emancipation" by which teenagers can sever the control their parents have over them, but in most case, young people become emancipated automatically when they reach the age of emancipation. In many states, the age of emancipation is the same as the age of majority, but not all.

For comparison, look at http://www.divorcesource.com/ds/chil...port-625.shtml.