In a divorce situation when the couple has minor children, it is common to see the divorce decree will allow one spouse to claim the children as dependents in even years and the other spouse in odd years.Over time, unfortunately, the custodial spouse seems to “forget” this sometimes. To protect the noncustodial spouse, the IRS requires a Form 8332 (link- http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8332.pdf ) to be attached to the tax return.

Many times a divorcee decree will grant the noncustodial parent the right to claim as dependents minor children in alternating years. For example, the custodial parent can claim the child(ren) in years ending with even numbers, and the noncustodial parent can take them as dependents in years ending with odd numbers.