Serrano v. Serrano

The principal issue in this appeal is whether the 1984 amendments to § 152 (e) of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. § 152 (e),* 1 2divested state courts of the authority to designate which party in actions for dissolution of marriage may claim the dependent child exemption for federal income tax purposes. After finding that the marriage between the plaintiff husband and the defendant wife had irretrievably broken down, the trial court rendered judgment dissolving the marriage and establishing the custodial and *3financial responsibilities of the parties.2 The judgment provided that the sole…