Should I file my 1040X? Taxes and My Ex

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-06-2007
Should I file my 1040X? Taxes and My Ex
2
Fri, 10-10-2008 - 9:02am
My ex husband and I agreed to letting him claim the kids on his taxes for 2007. His refund would be applied to the back child support he owes me and I would get the money. Of course he waited until almost April 15th to file his taxes. And supposedly by JULY had not heard from Jackson Hewitt, the firm that did his taxes, that his return was rejected. And the only reason he heard was that I forced him to call the IRS. So, it took him almost two months to sign whatever it was he was supposed to sign and return the tax forms to the IRS. I ask him on a daily basis what's going on with his taxes and he tells me he doesn't know, that he hasn't had time to call. Now, call me stupid, but if you're unemployed and sitting around mooching off your parents, I'd think you'd have time to make a phone call. But whatever. So I've been debating whether or not I should just file a 1040X and claim the kids. I did not sign anything giving him permission to claim the kids, I have full custody of them, and I have not received a dime in child support since May. By filing the 1040X, I'd get over $2500 (just in time for Christmas) plus the other $600 for the rebate. I'm currently unemployed with no job prospects unfortunately. I could really use the money. The flip side to this is that if I file the 1040X, he'll get hit with taxes and penalties. Part of me says that he freaking deserves it. It's been over 6 months and he can't bring himself to make a phone call. He owes me nearly $20000.00 in back child support. He refuses to look for real work and instead opts to work under the table so he can avoid taxes and child support. So I've been solely supporting our kids since May, and I was laid off from my job in July. Now all we have coming in is unemployment. And the kids don't have health insurance because he stopped paying on that as well. My gut says go ahead and file the 1040X and let him deal with the consequences of his laziness.
Any thoughts?
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-29-2006
Fri, 10-10-2008 - 3:30pm
You gave him more than enough time to do what he needed to do and he didn't do it, so I say file the 1040X and get that taken care of ASAP - let him worry about the rest.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Fri, 10-10-2008 - 4:18pm
Go for it!

Karen ~ wildlucky4me

Karen ~ wildlucky4me ~