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At trial, petitioner expressed some degree of exasperation
over the fact that the State court judgment expressly allowed him
the dependency exemption "but they didn't tell me that back then
that I had to have a letter of hers saying I could have [the
exemption]". The court judgment, however, quoted above,
expressly provides that petitioner's former spouse was required
to execute IRS Form 8332 or any other form required by Federal
and State internal revenue laws. The record is silent as to
whether petitioner ever requested his former spouse to execute
the necessary release. Petitioner further complained "Why
doesn't the court system work together here? I mean, why does
the Anoka County court system give me this right, and then the
Federal court says, no, I can't do this. The IRS says I can't do
this." The answer to that concern is very simple: petitioner
did not obtain from his former spouse and attach to his return
the required release; i.e., IRS Form 8332 or any acceptable
written statement. The Court explained to petitioner that, if
his former wife refused to comply with the requirements of the
divorce decree, his recourse was to seek relief against her in
the State court that issued the decree. The bottom line is that
the court systems do work, but it is up to the aggrieved party to
seek relief from the appropriate court where the rights of such
party have not been honored.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011