Legal Question in Family Law in California

Based on your schedule as described, you do not have 50/50 custody. You have more like 35/65 custody. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the person who has custody more than half the year takes the deduction. Depending on tax brackets and income, however, it is sometimes a better deal for both parties for the person with less time to take the deduction, because the reduction in their taxes will increase their child support amount but by less than they save on taxes. So it's a win-win except for the IRS. I suggest you have his attorney run the DissoMaster both ways and see if you can both get more money by him taking the deduction. If not, you have the right to take it.

First of all, there is a distinction between custody and visitation. While you may have joint physical custody, you clearly have your son the majority of the time. Usually, when you have the child more than the other parent, you would be entitled to file Head of Household and claim him on taxes.

Take a look at your judgment--it should have been stated in there who gets to claim him. If not, if there are child support orders, look at the DissoMaster (the computer printout that shows how much child support is owed to you) and look for the only letters in the two columns stating your income. If under your column it states HHLMA, you are entitled to claim your son. If it says Single, then support was calculated assuming that your ex-husband would claim him.

The best piece of advice I can give you is to communicate with his attorney. Even if you aren't able to resolve the situation and need to go in front of the judge for a formal ruling, you will have avoided both claiming your son and kicking off a tax audit.