Q: My husband and I have agreed to a divorce and to file our taxes separately this year. He is now threatening to sue me.
My husband and I have agreed to a divorce and to file our taxes separately this year. He has obtained a lawyer(because he can afford one) and "per his lawyer, we have to file joint taxes otherwise he will sue me." According to his lawyer, because we have filed joint for the 2yrs of our marriage and one of those years he claimed his son, i therefore benefited. That year he actually ended up owing taxes. Given that 2017 is a new tax year, I was under the assumption we could change our tax filling status. I think the reason he's now doing this is because he will be in a different tax bracket. Is there anyway for me to be sued if we had agreed to file separately and split the house? I have already started filing my taxes as married but separate.
A: What does it mean that you "agreed to a divorce." That sounds like there is no divorce filed, and your spouse is bullying you. If you have not yet filed for divorce, then use the Find a Lawyer tab and retain and attorney to proceed with filing for the divorce ASAP. The divorce process will determine how you will be filing tax returns. You both can file for an extension of filing 2017 returns until that has been resolved. Don't let him bully you with threats. Get your own attorney, and also consult a tax professional.
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