Q: Can my estranged husband force me to file 2017 joint taxes with him through the courts? He committed tax fraud in 2016.
We've been separated since 2015. Separate maintenance was put in place. He moved out abandoning our children and I. He filled a fraudulent tax return in 2016. His attorney has filed a motion against me to force me to file joint taxes with him in 2017. Is this legal? What are my rights? Our divorce will be finalized soon. He is intentionally dragging our divorce out. We have 3 minor children, I am by judges order the custodial parent, as he barely sees them. In his 2016 taxes he claimed he paid me 24k in alimony, I don't receive alimony as of yet. He claimed all 3 of our children live with him, which they barely see him and no overnights at all. He also claimed he lived in our house, he moved out into an apartment December 2015.
Please help. I filed my own taxes in 2016, well before my husband, lawfully claiming our children and head of household. Can his lawyer and the judge force me to commit perjury to the IRS by forcing me to amend my return and file jointly?
A: Considering you are divorcing and you do not have faith in the ability of your soon to be ex to file an accurate return, you can file married filing separately. You could file head of household if you are separated, lived in separate households for the last 6 months (or more) of the year and provide more than half of your household expenses.
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