I've filed for divorce and have had some mediation and have gone to court. My husband filed his taxes as married filing single and got back almost $4,000 and wont split it with me. I wanted to file jointly as we usually do but he wants all the money for himself so he went ahead and filed on his own and kept the money. Now Im going to do my taxes and will only get back about $500.
He is totally entitled to file married filing separately and receive that refund back since that amount represents the amount of money he overpaid to the IRS through withholding.
Your husband is entitled to file married filing single but you should speak to tax professional on whether you are entitled to deductions your husband used, such as mortgage interest, child dependent, etc. Best wishes.
As other's said, your Ex? has the right to file married filing separately. That can be done even while married. As mentioned, you should make sure that he did not claim exemptions or deductions to which you are entitled if being forced to also file separately. If a court already entered a final court order, and the court already divided all assets, then it is too late to have the court consider the IRS refund, and to try to do equity in some way. Often, if one person stands to gain a lot more by filing separately, you can ask that they do a draft tax return filing separately and filing together. So, in your case, if more than $4500.00 will be received filing jointly, you can agree to pay ex-H $4k, and if that still leaves you with more than $500, it could be a win-win situation. If the person refuses, and if final orders haven't been entered, that is a fact that you can bring before the court. If makes the non co-operating spouse look very bad and the court may act more favorably towards you. If there is a big difference, maybe ex will agree to refile.
