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receives over half of his support from his parents and is in the
custody of one or both of them for more than one-half of the
calendar year, then the parent having custody of the child for a
greater portion of the year at issue (a.k.a. the custodial
parent) is entitled to claim the dependency exemption deduction
for that child unless: (1) The noncustodial parent is shown
entitled to the deduction under section 151 (including section
152(a)), or (2) the custodial parent has validly executed a
written release of his or her right to claim the deduction as the
custodial parent of record.
The parties agree, and the record is clear, that petitioner
was not the custodial parent of M.F. during the year in issue.
Petitioner maintains his entitlement to the exemption
deduction with respect to M.F. because of the terms of the
aforementioned judgment, which gave him the right to claim M.F.
as a dependent so long as he is current in his child support and
health insurance obligations. The record is silent as to any
evidence contrary to the fact that, during the year in issue,
petitioner was compliant with these obligations; however,
although the judgment provides that petitioner would be entitled
to claim a dependency exemption in 2003 for M.F., is it well
settled that State courts, by their decisions, cannot determine
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Last modified: November 10, 2007