The Child Tax Credit – very often a point of contention, of debate in a child custody case. Note – the court has no jurisdiction over tax issues. A decree can be totally silent on taxes. The IRS will not pay any attention to a state court order on this issue. The only remedy is for one party to sue the other party for damages.
Let’s assume both parties filed for the tax credit. Result – each party gets a letter from IRS asking who is paying more than 50% of support for the child? This is almost always the primary of the child – the person with the right to designate the residence of the child. They then get the credit.
It’s called the preemption doctrine. Federal law preempts state law. Taxes is a matter of Federal law.
That said, some judge somewhere may order it. That’s another problem, but the order is void. Mostly, when judges hear Feds they put in their ear plugs.