A Little Backstory In January 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (Kennedy v. DuPont Plan Administrator) against a woman suing her late father’s pension plan for money her mother received. This occurred even though the mother had forfeited her rights to the pension in their 1994 divorce. The Supreme Court determined the beneficiary designation form […]
As you may have heard, Congress will likely be voting on major changes to the tax code this fall through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). At this time it has not been put into law, and the Senate may propose changes; however, if it passes, here is what you need to know. (The […]
We have seen many new clients recently who have experienced a very long period of separation from their spouse. Why? The couple made a conscious decision to simply live apart in separate households without progressing to divorce proceedings. There are many divorce financial planning complications created by these long separations. Here are a few that […]
Understanding Alimony Deductions Under current tax law, alimony payments are deductible to the individual paying the alimony and reported as taxable income by the recipient (unless the divorce decree or separation agreement stipulates otherwise). In practice, this tax treatment often generated tax savings for a divorced couple, as the payor of the alimony (who received […]
What is divorce mediation? The concept of divorce mediation has increased in America in the last thirty years as divorcing parties realize that divorce court should be a last resort. Divorce mediation helps those people whose lives are actually affected by the decisions and allows divorcing individuals a sense of control of the outcome IF […]
