Massachusetts Divorce Law Monitor : Boston, MA Divorce & Family Law Lawyer & Attorney : Nancy Van Tine : Burns & Levinson Law Firm

Hi there,

April 15th is coming up fast.  If you are divorcing, or if you are divorced, your taxes will be different and you will have a number of new items to consider.  I just came across a good article by Carley Mealey at the Brisbane Consulting Group. 

Taxgirl, my favorite tax site, has had a number of good posts on spousal support and taxes and on alimony in general.

Taxes are among the items you will need to consider when drafting a divorce agreement.  You need to think about how to divide any pending refund or liabilities, and how you are going to file for the current or prior year if you are still able to file jointly.

Another consideration should be how to handle any refunds (not so likely) or taxes and penalties that may occur for prior tax years when you filed jointly. Remember the divorce agreement can make one of you responsible but the IRS generally simply goes after the easier target.

And finally, someone sent me this article and I found it so fascinating I had to pass it on.

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there

In today's political climate the next item, health insurance, is somewhat challenging to consider.

There should be provisions in all agreements, for both health insurance coverage and for how you will handle the uninsured medical expenses for both yourselves and your children.

Generally this is first an economic and a health consideration; Who has the best insurance at the best price? If there are children then the cost of insurance is covered in the child support guidelines.  The guidelines provide that the custodial parent pays for the first $250 of uninsured expenses for the children, then the parents share the remainder annually.  Generally it is best to spell out what is intended to be covered; medical expenses, dental expenses and counseling expenses, then list what future expenses need to be discussed before they are incurred; there can be a different split of the cost of large ticket items, such as orthodontia as well.

Massachusetts has a provision in its laws that requires health insurance companies with some exceptions to provide post divorce insurance for the spouse of the insured.   This is great unless the insured spouse is employed by a company that is a self insurer (Microsoft) or works for the government, in which case the spouse will have to obtain their own insurance. The issue of who pays for this and how the payment is to be characterized, as alimony or not is the subject generally of negotiation, often intense.

Life insurance should be part of any agreement where one there are children or where one side has a support obligation to the other side.  The purpose of life insurance in a divorcing family is exactly the same as it would be in an intact one. It is to replace the stream of income that would be lost should one party die, or to fund the obligations to pay in the future that one party has for the benefit of the other or for the benefit of the children. I am not a proponent of whole life insurance and particularly not in a divorce situation where the obligation is limited. If you shop around there is some very reasonable term life insurance available.

You will need to consider: duration, amount , beneficiaries, proof of insurance, how does one party determine that the insurance is in effect, as well as a logical relationship of the insurance to your obligations.

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there,

Starting this week I am changing the name of the Monday's Miscellany category (don't worry, you can find all past entries here).  Because I do a lot of in court litigation, Mondays tend to be a very difficult day for me to get a post together if I don't manage to get it done over the weekend, sooo I am changing the title to Divorce Lawyer's Choice, to get out of having to absolutely, positively have it done on Monday :)

This week I want to talk about women's issues.  Not usually my bag, but I was so outraged by this article that I had to put it out there.  Hi there, TaxGirl, question - If an institution has tax free status as a result of being a certain religion, do they get a "get out of jail card" for treating women as second class citizens?

Domestic violence in my mind stems, at least in part, from the belief that the victim is less than the abuser. The statistics are absolutely horrifying.  Statistics don't tell the whole story . Domestic violence cuts across socioeconomic and gender lines as these two prior articles showcase.

This story terrified me because the young woman and her father tried to do all they could to prevent the tragedy, and still it happened.  I understand how infuriating it must be to be forced to uproot your life to stay safe but safety has to be the first priority. That is why so many domestic violence shelters do not advertise where they are.

I was also dismayed to read the story about New York's Governor Patterson.  

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there,

Every now and again I have the luxury of getting a colleague to guest post for me.  Today it is my partner, Robin Lynch Nardone.  With spring in the air (well maybe) and with socioeconomic trends making prenuptial agreements more necessary, her article is very timely.

Enjoy!

Guest post by Robin Lynch Nardone, Partner at Burns & Levinson LLP.
Ms. Nardone specializes in family law litigation and mediation. In her litigation practice she handles all aspects of divorce, custody disputes, paternity, post-divorce modification and enforcement of alimony, child support, and other judgments.  She has extensive experience in the negotiation and drafting of prenuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements, and divorce agreements. In addition to litigation, Ms. Nardone is a trained family law mediator. As a neutral mediator, she helps couples amicably resolve family law issues through informed negotiation.

As I look out over the six inches of new snow blanketing my lawn, I dream of summer sunshine, the smell of cut grass, back yard barbeques and summer weddings! If you are in the midst of planning your wedding, as you review your checklist of "to-do's," don't forget that while this winter's snow will melt and the sun will shine on your wedding day, endless fair weather isn't a guarantee. Marriage is entered into at a time when you have a very positive outlook on the future. But what will you do if, over time, storm clouds gather and overshadow your best intentions. Last, but not least, on your “to-do” checklist before marriage should be considering a prenuptial agreement, just in case there are too many rainy days in the future of your marriage.

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Hi there,

I hope you all had a good weekend despite the weather.  I managed to avoid watching Tiger Woods' mea culpa last week, but then I came across this article which basically condones the behavior as "natural".  While I can certainly see the argument that promiscuity may be wired in people, (I have had animals all my life and I know its wired in in them) I really think that as adult human beings we all make choices and promiscuity is a particularly self destructive choice to be making. 

The Internet is a fertile field for divorce lawyers.  As one, I am very mindful of the pitfalls of social networking.  It also is a fertile field for thieves as this new site points out.  Privacy in this wired-in age can be illusory.  I had no idea how much information the mere existence of  technology can provide someone who is able to access it. 

And finally, a colleague of mine alerted me about this website, Simple Marriage.  It is an interesting compilation of self-help information.  If you are considering divorce you may want to review the possibilities for avoiding it.  Even if in the end divorce is inevitable, there is comfort in knowing you did try your best to avoid it.

Best,

Nancy

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