divorce and married status for taxes

[johnstone2006]

I separated March 2004 and filed all the necessary divorce
papers in the end of December. I received the papers back
indicating that my papers were endorsed/filed on Dec 29,
2004. Does this mean that I can file as Single? California
has a 6-month waiting period for divorce so if I do nothing,
then I will be officially divorced in July, but is the fact
that all the documents, etc were filed before the end of the
year show enough proof that I can be considered Single for
tax purposes?

Thanks for any help,

John

 

[A.G. Kalman]

I separated March 2004 and filed all the necessary divorce
papers in the end of December. I received the papers back
indicating that my papers were endorsed/filed on Dec 29,
2004. Does this mean that I can file as Single? California
has a 6-month waiting period for divorce so if I do nothing,
then I will be officially divorced in July, but is the fact
that all the documents, etc were filed before the end of the
year show enough proof that I can be considered Single for
tax purposes?

In CA you are still married. You will no longer be married
and can file as single when the divorce is final and the
marriage is dissolved.

 

[Harlan Lunsford]

(e-mail address removed) wrote:

In CA you are still married. You will no longer be married
and can file as single when the divorce is final and the
marriage is dissolved.

Some how this reminds me of a client the other day. He's
single, but pays alimony and we confirmed he still had done
so in 2004. Then he asks about claiming his former wife as a
dependent. Huh? Ah well, no, he said, not that former wife,
but the former, former wife whom he had "taken care of" all
of last year. Where did he and this exwife live I asked
(when he wasn't driving his truck). Was it in his house
here in town? No, he replied, but up in Birmingham in her
house.

He didn't have her social security number however, so I told
him "no way". And of course you know the rest of the story
based on just these facts.

ChEAr$$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA
2 Apr 2005
13 days and counting

 

[D. Stussy]

I separated March 2004 and filed all the necessary divorce
papers in the end of December. I received the papers back
indicating that my papers were endorsed/filed on Dec 29,
2004. Does this mean that I can file as Single? California
has a 6-month waiting period for divorce so if I do nothing,
then I will be officially divorced in July, but is the fact
that all the documents, etc were filed before the end of the
year show enough proof that I can be considered Single for
tax purposes?

No. The Court has to approve it (and you have to wait until
the end of the "6 month cooling-off period" that CA
imposes). You are still married for 2004, unless you can
take advantage of HoH filing status by having a dependent
child.