Cyrus Bartholomew Dazzel - Page 7

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          the father of MS and YS on their respective birth certificates.             
          Moreover, we do not find Ms. Starks’ testimony credible that but            
          for his running an errand at the time that the birth certificate            
          for YS was signed in the hospital, petitioner would have been               
          listed as the father on that birth certificate.  Accordingly, we            
          find that the petitioner has not proven that he is the biological           
          parent of MS and YS.                                                        
              Although petitioner has failed to sustain his biological                
          claims with respect to MS and YS, section 152(a) permits a                  
          dependency deduction for a foster child or an unrelated                     
          individual who has the same principal place of abode as the                 
          taxpayer and is a member of the taxpayer’s household during the             
          taxable year at issue.  Sec. 152(a)(9), (b)(2).  Accordingly, the           
          next inquiry is whether petitioner has shown that the children              
          principally resided in his Orange, New Jersey, residence during             
          2003.                                                                       
              We find both inconsistency and irreconcilable vagueness in              
          the testimony of petitioner and Ms. Starks on the issue of where            
          the children principally resided during 2003.  Specifically,                
          although Ms. Starks testified that the children only resided in             
          Brooklyn, New York for 2 months while she recovered from surgery,           
          petitioner testified that the children stayed with their mother             
          and grandmother in New York when he was working.  Although                  
          petitioner testified that medical costs incurred by the children            
          in 2003 ranged from six to seven thousand dollars, he did not               




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