I am a divorced mother of three girls who has been living with my boyfriend for almost four years. He supports me and my children, My ex-husband has remarried and him and his new wife get the girls every other weekend and that is all. Can my boyfriend legally claim my children on his taxes since I am unemployed and he claims me as a dependent as well? My ex-husband says he cannot and thinks he is entitled to claim them even though he only pays $480.00 a month in child support and the children live with me and my boyfriend. There is nothing in our divorce papers about who should claim the kids and we have joint custody with me being the custodial parent.

Your husband has NO legal standing to claim your children because he does NOT provide at least half of their support.

Further, your boy friend DOES provide a home for them and a case can be made that he provides OVER half of their total support because he provides them with a place to live.

YOU clearly could claim the children as custodial parent. I believe that your boyfriend can also claim them since there is nothing in the divorce settlement to contradict his claim.

I recommend that you negotiate with your ex-husband on this matter. Perhaps he can give you a portion of his tax refund in exchange for you allowing him to claim the children.

This is the best alternative, because it could get messy if your husband and your boyfreind BOTH claim the children. I believe your boyfriend WOULD prevail, but only after having to PROVE to the IRS he is providing the required support.