My wife and I divorced in 2010...we have 3 kids, ages 18, 13 and 11...we have joint custody and I see the kids almost everyday even though they are only physically spending the night at my apartment every other weekend. The divorce settlement agreement specified that we would take turns claiming the kids on our taxes with one of us getting two child exemptions one year(and the other one getting just one, obviously) and the next year it would be reversed with the other parent getting two that year. Last March 2011, we filed our 2010 return and she claimed 2 of the kids and I got just one. She got the bigger refund of course. This year, it was supposed to be my turn to claim 2 of the kids whereas she would just get one. But now she not only doesn't want this to happen, but she wants to claim ALL 3 kids. I am also the one paying child support. Can she go against the divorce agreement and try to claim all 3 kids or even just let me have only one again despite the fact that I was supposed to get 2 of the 3 this year?
Answer
If your divorce settlement agreement states it, then that's what's supposed to happen. If she files before you and claims all three kids, you could file a motion with the court to hold her in contempt. If you file first, and claim the two kids as you're supposed to, and then she files and tries claiming all three kids, she'll have bigger problems than in Family Court.
Now, you could always figure out if her claiming all three kids gets a bigger refund than if she claimed one and you claimed two, and then agree to divide that refund to get both of you more money. However, that would take a lot more math skills than I possess, you'd probably want to consult an accountant on that one.
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