Can I Claim My Son Who Does Not Live With Me Without Form 8332?

Can I Claim My Son Who Does Not Live With Me Without Form 8332?

During my divorce proceedings, I was granted the right to claim my son as a dependent.  I was granted this right despite the fact my ex-wife is the custodial parent.  I went to a national tax shop with a court order in my pocket to have my taxes prepared.  I ran into a problem. My tax preparer stated that he needs the form 8332 to send in with my return.  The form 8332 is a form used to identify that a custodial parent releases custody of a child to a noncustodial parent. I immediately told him that I have a court order to claim my son, and that I am e-filing.   I am not filing by mail.  It should not be a problem.  I have a powerful local court order and that I was going to e-file my return.  He stated that I needed the form 8332 to claim my son.  He said, “Well, it is not a problem, we can fax your wife the form and she can fax it back.” When I get the form, we can e-file your return and I will send in the form 8332 with another form to associate it with your tax return.  He sounded so knowledgeable.  My God, I have a court order.  I called my wife.  She was no chance and she said, “My lost and fat chance.”  I told him that I will be taking my services elsewhere because my wife lip surgery deduction might not be allowed at his tax shop.  Can you help me Mr. Taxman? Is there anything that I can do because I do not want my friends to get a signature for me?  It is my right. I have a court order.

Before you call up your friends to iron things out, it is a good chance that your court order will suffice as a substitute for form 8332. Your order has to state the same things that the form 8332 does plus be signed by your wife.   The court order must state the following to be a substitute.

1.     You can unconditionally claim your son as your dependent,

2.     The other parent will not claim your son as her dependent

3.     The years in which the claim is released

If you have that information, you can send in a copy of the cover page of the court order that includes the custodial parent’s social security number, the pages that include the information above, and a signature page with the custodial parent’s signature and the date of agreement.