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husband's BIG secret.... and do I have enough proof?
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<blockquote data-quote="seriously" data-source="post: 447035" data-attributes="member: 11920"><p>Now the tax angle is actually the one that struck me as a big question mark that could bite either or both of you in the b*** and that you need to tend to sooner rather than later. Forgive me if you have already thought about this stuff and didn't mention it.</p><p></p><p>Do either of you now live in a community property state (probably not there are only 7)? If so, then your life just got a whole lot more complicated. But I'm going to assume not.</p><p></p><p>Did he file tax returns as married joint with 2 dependents after he moved out? Did he consult you about this return? Get your agreement?</p><p></p><p>If not, then he has a big legal problem with the IRS and probably whatever State he filed a state tax return for as well because he falsified the return if he filed it as if you had knowledge of and approved of the return.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, this could be a problem for you too if those returns get questioned now or in the future unless you notify the IRS that you want to claim innocent spouse relief.</p><p></p><p>Notifying the IRS about this is very likely to trigger an audit of his returns for the last 3 tax years.</p><p></p><p>If you are unsure what your filing status should have been for the tax year in question you can use the interactive IRS tool at this link to help you figure out if you/he should or should not have filed married joint/separate/single for that tax year.</p><p></p><p>And of course the issue of dependents - if he claimed either or both of your children then you will need to figure out who had the legal right to claim them for that tax year. And he may not have qualified for Head of household status depending on whether he had the legal right to claim them since an able-bodied adult dependent will not qualify you for HoH.</p><p></p><p>Did you file a return that year? What filing status did you use? Did you claim the kids?</p><p></p><p>Obviously, you probably should not discuss the details of this on the forum, I'm just pointing out things that you may not have thought about yet but that could be important, both for dealing with the IRS and for your current situation with the divorce/custody. You're welcome to PM me about it but my knowledge is based on reading IRS publications as they apply to my own somewhat irregular marital situation and dependents, etc.</p><p></p><p>He could NOT legally claim married joint for living with *her* as there is no state in the US that would consider their union legal. Plus there's the obvious fact that he is still married to you that would pose a little problem. But he might be able to file HoH - but if he claimed one or both of your kids when they weren't living with him and you had not written agreement then he probably didn't qualify for HoH - but you might not have either. It could be really complicated.</p><p></p><p>Now, I would think that most judges would look pretty unfavorably on a guy who falsified his tax returns - at your and your kids expense. It certainly speaks to his character and the extent to which he can be trusted to act in his children's best interests.</p><p></p><p>And if he filed married joint and listed HER as his wife...well there's some pretty solid proof of something and you didn't even have to bring it up directly although you can certainly bring your suspicions to the judge's attention and blame the tax return as the reason you are bringing the matter to judge's attention since it appears to confirm what other extended family members have told you.</p><p></p><p>It is really tough but, as others have said, not unheard of - more like it's not talked about by any of the parties involved.</p><p></p><p>Many hugs. Hope it goes well and sorry about that darn transmission.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="seriously, post: 447035, member: 11920"] Now the tax angle is actually the one that struck me as a big question mark that could bite either or both of you in the b*** and that you need to tend to sooner rather than later. Forgive me if you have already thought about this stuff and didn't mention it. Do either of you now live in a community property state (probably not there are only 7)? If so, then your life just got a whole lot more complicated. But I'm going to assume not. Did he file tax returns as married joint with 2 dependents after he moved out? Did he consult you about this return? Get your agreement? If not, then he has a big legal problem with the IRS and probably whatever State he filed a state tax return for as well because he falsified the return if he filed it as if you had knowledge of and approved of the return. Unfortunately, this could be a problem for you too if those returns get questioned now or in the future unless you notify the IRS that you want to claim innocent spouse relief. Notifying the IRS about this is very likely to trigger an audit of his returns for the last 3 tax years. If you are unsure what your filing status should have been for the tax year in question you can use the interactive IRS tool at this link to help you figure out if you/he should or should not have filed married joint/separate/single for that tax year. And of course the issue of dependents - if he claimed either or both of your children then you will need to figure out who had the legal right to claim them for that tax year. And he may not have qualified for Head of household status depending on whether he had the legal right to claim them since an able-bodied adult dependent will not qualify you for HoH. Did you file a return that year? What filing status did you use? Did you claim the kids? Obviously, you probably should not discuss the details of this on the forum, I'm just pointing out things that you may not have thought about yet but that could be important, both for dealing with the IRS and for your current situation with the divorce/custody. You're welcome to PM me about it but my knowledge is based on reading IRS publications as they apply to my own somewhat irregular marital situation and dependents, etc. He could NOT legally claim married joint for living with *her* as there is no state in the US that would consider their union legal. Plus there's the obvious fact that he is still married to you that would pose a little problem. But he might be able to file HoH - but if he claimed one or both of your kids when they weren't living with him and you had not written agreement then he probably didn't qualify for HoH - but you might not have either. It could be really complicated. Now, I would think that most judges would look pretty unfavorably on a guy who falsified his tax returns - at your and your kids expense. It certainly speaks to his character and the extent to which he can be trusted to act in his children's best interests. And if he filed married joint and listed HER as his wife...well there's some pretty solid proof of something and you didn't even have to bring it up directly although you can certainly bring your suspicions to the judge's attention and blame the tax return as the reason you are bringing the matter to judge's attention since it appears to confirm what other extended family members have told you. It is really tough but, as others have said, not unheard of - more like it's not talked about by any of the parties involved. Many hugs. Hope it goes well and sorry about that darn transmission. [/QUOTE]
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husband's BIG secret.... and do I have enough proof?
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