Statutory requirements for dependency exemptions must be met fully.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 01 October 2000
• Author: Ely, Mark H.

In Miller, 114 TC No. 13, the Tax Court held that a noncustodial parent's permanent divorce order granting him the right to claim his minor children as dependents on his tax return failed to satisfy the signature requirement of Sec. 152(e) (2), because his ex-wife never signed the order and therefore failed to assign him the right to the exemptions.

John Lovejoy and his wife Cheryl Miller separated in 1992 and finally divorced in 1993. The state court issued a permanent order of divorce, granting Miller sole custody of the couple's minor children, but also granting...