My Jobless Sons Dad Wants To Take Me To Court For Tax Return

Location: Virginia, United Stares

I’ll try to keep the details short but my son is 14 turning 15 this year. He has lived with me all of his life up until September of last year when his dad kinda stole him from me when the school year started. (That’s another story in itself)

I have filed for my son every year as he has lived with me the majority of the time besides some weekends and holidays and overnights when I have worked. I am the one who pays for my son extracurricular activities, his clothes, any hair cuts, and I have his insurances.

My son’s father, starting this winter after my son had only been with him two months or so, started demanding that he was filing for my son this tax return. I didn’t argue because I knew I was going to file anyways as I was in my right to do so. I believe legally, it goes to the parent who has the child more than half of the year and also the parent with the higher AGI which would also be me as he hasn’t had a job in a few years. (Lives with his mother) so I filed anyways and figured he’d find out eventually he was wrong.

End of last month, he calls me again to TELL me that his family is filing for him, his mother specifically because she is filing for her social security and something about how she’ll get an extra 300-400 per month for him. At this point, I’ve already filed as soon as I got my w2 January 1.

Fast forward to last night at midnight, he calls me to yell at me for filing threatening to take me to court for the tax return because I’m so selfish and always put my son second because I stole 4800 from him and money from his mom potentially. I said if money is genuinely the issue, I was already planning to save the 1300 for my son anyways and I said if need be I will give him the other 3500 when he wants to buy a car which the money was originally for allegedly.

But someone please tell me I’m not wrong and if he would have any legal standing at all. His mom isn’t his guardian so I feel she couldn’t file for him anyways when he has a parent who already has custody who cares for him financially.

And like I said just to reiterate, he has no job, no insurance, lives with his mom, I pay for his phone his clothes his activities, etc.

I don’t know if this is important information but I am pregnant and need the tax return I get to help with my maternity leave as I am in the service industry and don’t get paid time off.

I’m open to answer any questions if I left anything out and open to any and all advice.