In a Gwinnett County Divorce Case who gets the Child Dependency Exemption?

Douglas W. Lewis, Lawrenceville Divorce Attorney – serving Gwinnett County and the metro-Atlanta area in Divorce, Family Law, Legitimation, Paternity, Modification, Contempt and Custody cases.

Child Dependency Exemptions (Child Tax Exemptions) in Gwinnett County Divorce Cases

In Gwinnett County divorce cases, Child Dependency Exemptions (also referred to as child tax exemptions) are often sought after by both parties. As a Lawrenceville Divorce Attorney for over twenty years I have seen quite a number of times where at the beginning of a divorce case the parties are fighting over who is going to claim the child or children as a dependency exemption on their taxes.  It is a common misconception that a Gwinnett County judge can grant the child dependency exemption to either party in a contested Gwinnett County divorce case. In reality, a Gwinnett judge in Gwinnett Divorce Court, has no authority or power to give, or take away, a dependency exemption in a Gwinnett County divorce case.

Child Dependency Exemptions Are Determined by Federal Law

Who gets the dependency exemption is controlled by federal law, not by a Gwinnett County Superior Court judge.

The IRS provides a dependency exemption to parents for each child they support. The dependency exemption reduces your taxable income which in turn reduces your tax liability. The amount of the exemption is adjusted each year for inflation. For the 2014 tax year the dependency exemption is $3,950.00. For the 2015 tax year the dependency exemption will be $4,000.00.

Federal law further provides when parents get divorced the custodial parent is entitled to the dependency exemption. Thus, if you are the custodial parent of a minor child in a Gwinnett County Divorce case you will get the child dependency exemption. However, the dependency exemption can be given to the noncustodial parent if agreed to by the parties as part of their divorce settlement negotiations. Beware though that just stating in a divorce agreement who is to get the exemption is not enough as the IRS requires that a special form (Form 8332) be properly executed by the custodial parent and attached to the non-custodial parent's tax return.

The bottom line is that in a Gwinnett County Divorce case the custodial parent, by federal law, will get the dependency exemption unless the custodial parent decides to give it to the noncustodial parent as part of a settlement agreement.

If you or a family member or a friend have any questions about a Gwinnett County divorce case or divorce case in any other County in the metro-Atlanta area including Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, Walton, Barrow, Hall and Forsyth counties, then please do not hesitate to immediately call attorney Doug Lewis at770-682-3765 for a free initial telephone consultation.

Lawrenceville Divorce Lawyer Douglas W. Lewis has over twenty years of experience in Gwinnett County and the Atlanta Metro area handling divorce, legitimation, paternity and child custody cases, family law cases, personal injury cases, criminal defense, civil litigation cases and estate planning matters.  If you have any questions please call the Lawrenceville office for a free initial phone consultation or to schedule an office consultation.  You can contact attorney Doug Lewis by telephone at 770-682-3765, via email.  Client reviews can be found on Mr. Lewis' Google + page and on his website.