I saw bd once a few weeks ago..and he's been ignoring me ever since. I just want him to talk to me and figure things out since we're getting close to her being born. He will not respond to me or acknowledge me in any way even when I ask him if he wants to know when his daughter is born so he can come see her. I don't even think he knows which hospital I'm going to. It's a little hurtful that he won't even acknowledge my existence at all. I think even a "I don't care or want to know when she's born" response would be better than absolutely no response at all...when he did see me he just made stupid comments about my size and such I think he was just trying to make me upset. I really don't even know if I should inform him when she's born at this point...
Liliana Seraphina born 9/5/2103
Re: He won't even respond
He cannot claim the baby on his taxes. If you look up the IRS law the parent who has physical custody for 51% or more time is the one who can claim the child. As long as you can prove you have 51% physical custody you are the one who is able to claim the child. Also, I see no reason why he would need the SSN?
Smart move not to give LO's SSN to BD. My GD does not have LO's SSN either and never will if I can help it.
State to state is going to vary on laws. When you file your taxes you will see a question that asks if you have provided more than 50% of the dependents care for the year. You can claim anyone who is dependent on you including parents, spouses, etc. I'm trying to remember what it said from filing last year but I think that's the percentage. IF he somehow gets LO's SSN and uses it to file taxes you can fight this with the IRS by making him provide proof. As he isn't even visiting he can't do that and (hopefully) it will be a short process to get your return straightened out. You may even be able to get them to make a note that he can't claim LO without a CO after you've gone through the process once. A headache but it can be reversed should that happen.
As far as child support, I've worked closely with CS on a pervious job and in my state setting up CS does not entitle him to claiming you LO on his taxes. That's something that has to be set up in a CO. It's usually set up as EOY. CS Enforcement won't set up those terms, he's going to have to take you to court to get that. If he does, the courts will probably give him EOY assuming he's paying CS. In that case, see if you can't get a clause in there that says he has to be current on his child support to claim LO too. Doesn't hurt to try. If he doesn't go to court, then document and go by the IRS's guidelines. I'm sure you easily provide more support for LO than he does.
Getting CS set up isn't just what's on the birth certificate though. You either need a DNA test or an acknowledgement of paternity. I could name my child Susie Slater but that won't make that child Christian Slater's child. If you don't have one of those, it can take a while to get CS set up. Call your local CSE office ASAP to get the ball rolling if you haven't already. Ask your CSE office if they give out dependent SSN's to NCP's if they ask to cover yourself.
A second note on if he does claim LO one his taxes, when a NCP is behind on their child support, tax returns are seized in most states. Once you have CP set up, if he's not paying it's likely you'll be getting his return anyway. He doesn't even get to see it. The IRS send it directly to CSE to cover his overdue CS.
I MIGHT let him know when she's born. Might not. But the state surely will
Make a pregnancy ticker