As some know, my husband and I filed our taxes through H&R Block on Sunday. He went in to pick up the refund check on Tuesday, only to find that they didn't have it. They gave him a number to call, saying that there would be an explanation there. He called, and the recording stated that our refund was being off-set by the IRS for past-due child support.
Now, a history here, is that he was married, and "had" a child with his ex-wife. There was a ton of infidelity on her part, two occasions involving this two then-best friends (on separate occasion at least, I hope). There has always been a question of the child's paternity, and it's taken quite a while for my husband to get to the point of wanting a DNA test done to rule out that he is the child's biological father. Believe me, I've yelled at him for years, and told him that a paternity test should have been done while the child was still an infant. He made the decision after our daughter was born. He doesn't want to take anything from her, to give to a child that is not biologically his.
While he was out of work for 6 months, he filed a relief from his obligation to pay child support, and he also requested a DNA test for paternity. The court case was scheduled to be heard on the same day that the blizzard here in RI caused the Governor to declare a state-of-emergency. That meant that all courts were shut-down. As of yet, he has no received notice of a rescheduling for hearing the case.
When I got our mail yesterday, we had gotten a letter from the State of RI (Tax Division), saying that we would be receiving nothing, because our whole RI refund was being off-set and sent to his ex-wife for child support owed.
My question is, How can they take OUR taxes for a debt that he owes? Also, if paternity has not been established, can they rightfully take it? While it's true that he's taken responsibility for the child since he was born (he is now 8 years old), it's because he was the only one who stuck around for them. All of her other <ahem> partners left.
I also did a ton of research about this yesterday. I found that I could file an "Injured Spouse" claim, which would entitle me to be allocated up to half (or more) of the refunds (both State and Federal). I've downloaded and filled out form #8379 (Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation), and will be sending it to both State and Federal today.
Another thing I want to add is that after deductions were totaled, because my husband and I had made so little during the year, we zeroed out, which is why we received such a hefty refund, but most of that was attributed to our daughter, and the Earned Income Credit. Can they rightfully take that when that's the reason? Can they take from our daughter to give to a child that is probably 100% not my husband's?
We do intend to fight this, especially in the courts with the paternity, but my question is, if there's a pending case regarding this, can they still legally take the refunds from us?
Oh, and this is in no way delaying or preventing us from moving to TN, but I would just like a heads-up on what to expect.
Thanks for any advice you can give us.



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