2021 stimulus

A

Anonymous1010

New Member
Jurisdiction
Iowa
I was divorced in 2020. My ex kept our joint bank account - I no longer have access - and I opened a new account. The 2021 stimulus check was deposited into his account apparently since this account was used for our joint tax returns for 2019 taxes. My ex and I use the same cpa. The cpa told him to give me my stimulus money, and he told him he would. The cpa reported on my 2021 taxes that I had received the money with this in mind. Well my ex never gave me the money, so the cpa told me the next option was to get an attorney. Is there something I can do on my own? Or would it be something simple for an attorney to handle? I'm afraid the costs of the attorney could get almost as high as the stimulus amount. We have 3 kids so it was relatively high.

Thank you
 
Was there anything in your divorce decree about who gets the stimulus check. If not, it's kind of a gamble to sue for it. You can sue in small claims court for up to $6500 without a lawyer. Maybe a lawsuit will get him to pony up rather than experience the hassle of court.

At any rate, I suggest filing an amended tax return to reverse the income and get some tax money back.

If you end up getting the money from your ex you can declare it for whatever year you get it in.
 
adjusterjack said:
Was there anything in your divorce decree about who gets the stimulus check. If not, it's kind of a gamble to sue for it. You can sue in small claims court for up to $6500 without a lawyer. Maybe a lawsuit will get him to pony up rather than experience the hassle of court.

At any rate, I suggest filing an amended tax return to reverse the income and get some tax money back.

If you end up getting the money from your ex you can declare it for whatever year you get it in.
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There is nothing in the divorce decree about who gets the stimulus money because we were divorced in 2020 and the stimulus was in 2021. I guess it was a timing issue regarding the bank accounts the IRS had on file for us. You are saying in this case I cannot sue in small claims court? Thank you
 
How much money is involved?

Do you have the documentation that the stimulus money was deposited in your name. Of course it was, but you'll need some documentary evidence to show a judge, like something from your account on the IRS website to show when the deposits were made and how much.

Once you have those records you can send copies to your ex with a completed, but not filed, small claims complaint form giving a deadline to pay you.

If that doesn't scare him into paying, sue him. Gamble or no, small claims is cheap and informal and for a few thousand I would do it in a heartbeat, win or lose.
 
Anonymous1010 said:
There is nothing in the divorce decree about who gets the stimulus money because we were divorced in 2020 and the stimulus was in 2021. I guess it was a timing issue regarding the bank accounts the IRS had on file for us. You are saying in this case I cannot sue in small claims court? Thank you
Click to expand...

You would have had to file separate returns for 2020 and 2021. Did you?
You should not have reported on your return that you got the money when you hadn't yet gotten it from him. But since you did, I would suggest you first amend the 2021 return to correct that error.
It's possible but not guaranteed the IRS would give you your share of the stimulus now.

Suing your ex in small claims court is another option. Should you win the case, it is up to you to collect the money if he doesn't willingly hand it over. Hopefully he still banks at the same bank as before so you can just hit that to try to get your money.
 
Tax Counsel said:
You would have had to file separate returns for 2020 and 2021. Did you?
You should not have reported on your return that you got the money when you hadn't yet gotten it from him. But since you did, I would suggest you first amend the 2021 return to correct that error.
It's possible but not guaranteed the IRS would give you your share of the stimulus now.

Suing your ex in small claims court is another option. Should you win the case, it is up to you to collect the money if he doesn't willingly hand it over. Hopefully he still banks at the same bank as before so you can just hit that to try to get your money.
Click to expand...
Yes...we filed separate returns for tax years 2020 and 2021 as we were divorced in March of 2020. I will reach out to my cpa to amend the 2021 taxes and go from there. Thank you!
 

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