Many states embrace change in alimony laws

On behalf of Edwards & Associates posted in Divorce on Friday, August 26, 2011

Americans tend to have a general idea about the rate of divorce in the country, but new information gathered by the recent Census allows Americans to view divorce with a new light. According to the new Census information men and women in the South and West have higher divorce rates than men and women in other areas of the country.

According to the latest information, the general divorce rate among men and women in the United States is comparable. Divorces became final for 9.2 of every 1,000 men in the United States, and divorces became final for 9.7 of every 1,000 women. As divorces were broken down according to region the rates began to differ.

Divorces occurred at a higher rate in the South and West. In the South divorces became finalized for men at a rate of 10.2 for every 1,000 and for women at a rate of 11.1 per 1,000. Divorce rates seem to be connected to the rate of marriages in a given region. According to a family demographer at the Census Bureau, divorce rates in the South tend to be higher because marriages rates are also higher in the South. The Northeast had the lowest rate of divorces, but the rate of marriage is also lower in the region.

The report entitled, "Marital Events of Americans: 2009" is the first report to review and analyze marriage, divorce and widowhood among Americans ages 15 and older. The information used in the study was gathered from the 2009 American Community Survey. Prior studies on divorce and marriage in the United States were based on information collected from marriage and divorce certificates filed at the state level.

Source: Reuters, "More untie the knot in South, Northeast divorces least: Census," Molly O'Tolle, Aug. 25, 2011

Support modifications for pro athletes pending

On behalf of Edwards & Associates posted in Alimony on Tuesday, May 17, 2011

National Football League players were locked out in March. National Basketball League players are expected to join them in June. Players for both groups are at the mercy of ongoing contract negotiations between team owners and players' unions. Right now, neither side is budging and sports agents are becoming edgy.

It's estimated that up to 80 percent of all pro-athletes are paying alimony, child support or both. Many players' financial advisors are reminding their clients that no pay equals no way to pay those bills and are recommending that players ask for support modifications.

Despite high salaries, many players are unprepared if the checks suddenly stop coming. Those who do pay support often have thousands to tens of thousands of dollars deducted each month.

Should an NFL player suddenly stop making an average yearly salary of $1.8 million, financial times could quickly become tough for all those dependent on that money.

When the ball teams don't pay the bills, players must pay and that includes health insurance. The NFL trade association says that could run about $2,000 each month for many. When those costs are multiplied by court-ordered health care costs for children or exes and the costs can run double, triple or more.

When a spouse or parent has a child support or alimony obligation, that obligation was initially calculated by looking at his income. When a parent or ex-spouse suffers an involuntary loss of income, those support obligations can quickly become too much to afford. Simply failing to pay child support or alimony can result in a contempt hearing and the possibility of jail time.

When a person suffers an involuntary loss of income, experienced family law attorneys understand the importance of requesting a downward modification from a family law judge. A successful request for a modification can reduce child support and alimony payments and eliminate the possibility of a contempt hearing.

Source: Bloomberg, "NFL Players Poised to Cut Alimony, Making Wives Industry Dispute Victim," Scott Soshnick, 5/9/20114

Ex-wife 'fries' her own claim for alimony with Facebook posts

On behalf of Edwards & Associates posted in Alimony on Tuesday, April 19, 2011

In the past, we have written about how common it is for Facebook evidence to be used in divorce cases. Statements made on Facebook and other internet sites often count as evidentiary admissions, which can be introduced in court to prove or refute a specific issue. A recent divorce case illustrates this principle in the context of an alimony claim.

The ex-wife requested lifetime alimony from her ex-husband. If she had her way, she would receive $850 per month for life. The basis for her claim was that she had been disabled in a car accident in 1997 and was unable to work.

In court, she claimed she could not work and was rarely able to leave home. If true, these facts could give her a plausible claim for alimony. After all, alimony is designed to help support an ex-spouse's standard of living after the marriage. If she could not work, then she would need help from her ex-husband.

However, the ex-wife had a belly-dancing hobby. She spent a few hours each day belly dancing at home and outside of her home. When she was not belly dancing, she spent a large amount of time writing about her belly dancing on the internet.

When a Facebook friend asked her why she wrote about belly dancing without ever posting pictures, she responded, "Gotta be careful what goes online, pookies. The ex would love to fry me with that."

Indeed, you do need to be careful what you post on the internet when you have a divorce case and a claim for alimony. However, her ex-husband did not need pictures of her belly dancing. The ex-wife's words were enough for her ex-husband to "fry" her claim for alimony. Her words alone showed that she was not disabled as she claimed.

The judge refused to give her lifetime alimony. Instead, she will receive alimony for only two years and at the reduced amount of $400 per month. The judge also awarded the husband 60 percent of the proceeds of the sale of their house and ordered her to pay thousands in attorney fees to compensate her ex-husband for the expense of defending against her unreasonable tactics.

Source: New York Post, "'Disabled' woman seeking alimony revealed to be belly dancer," Dareh Gregorian, 4/16/2011

Tags: Facebook, alimony, divorce, evidence

Alimony versus child support in divorce

On behalf of Edwards & Associates posted in Alimony on Wednesday, April 6, 2011

April is now in full swing in Atlanta. For the optimists among us, that means opening day of the baseball season. For the realists among us, that means tax season.

With April 15 is just around the corner, many of our readers will be curious about how divorce and taxes interact. We would like to share some of the basics of divorce and taxation with you.

A well-structured divorce takes taxes into account. One of the most common tax issues that come up in divorce is how to structure payments from one ex-spouse to the other. At first glance, alimony and child support seem very similar. After all, they are both payments sent from on ex to the other. However, alimony is very different from child support when taxes are considered.

In most cases, the amount of alimony paid is deductible for the paying spouse and it can lower the paying spouse's tax bill. In tax jargon, alimony is considered an "above the line" deduction, which means you can claim it even if you do not itemize your deductions on your tax return. However, alimony is generally considered to be taxable income for the spouse who receives it. In order to be eligible to claim an alimony deduction, the alimony must be ordered by a written divorce or separation agreement or order.

The IRS has also developed some guidelines for preventing people from using alimony to pay for what is really child support. That is because child support is not deductible on your taxes. Child support does not give the paying spouse a tax deduction and it does not count as taxable income to the receiving spouse.

When writing a divorce agreement, experienced family law attorneys understand how important the tax implications can be. If you have questions about alimony, child support or taxes in a divorce, an experienced family law attorney can help.

Michael Douglas's Wall Street Money Safe for Now

 

On behalf of Edwards & Associates posted in Property Division on Thursday, November 18, 2010

In 1987, Michael Douglas starred as the infamous Gordon Gekko in the hit movie, "Wall Street." Gekko had an uncanny talent for separating people from their money. Now, Douglas's ex-wife, Diandra, would like to separate Michael Douglas from some of his Gordon Gekko money. From 1977 to 2000, Michael and Diandra were married and they had one child together. In 2000, they divorced and as part of their settlement agreement Michael agreed to pay Diandra half of all the proceeds from film, television, and stage performances he did during their marriage. Diandra would also argue that she is entitled to half of any income related to those performances.

As a result, she has sued Michael Douglas for half of his earnings from the sequel to "Wall Street" made this year, "Wall Street: Greed Never Sleeps." After all, Michael starred in the original while they were married and he reprised his role as Gordon Gekko in this year's film. Had the role of Gordon Gekko in the 1987 film gone to another 1980s actor like Tom Selleck as Gekko P.I. or Harrison Ford as Indiana Gekko, Michael Douglas would not have been offered the role in the 2010 sequel.

Michael Douglas takes the position that Diandra is not entitled to earnings from post-divorce movies, whether they are sequels or not. Earlier this month Diandra's lawsuit was dismissed, but this will not be the end of the story.

Although they were divorced in California, Diandra filed her lawsuit in New York. A New York judge ruled that California was the proper place for the lawsuit because California has more familiarity with the legal and factual issues on the Douglas divorce. It is important to point out that this dismissal is not a decision on the merits of Diandra's claim, so she will be able to re-file her lawsuit in a California court.

As this story demonstrates, property division in divorce can be one of the most complex issues to resolve. The Douglas divorce was finalized in 2000, yet they are still arguing over marital property division. Ultimate resolution on this issue is going to have to wait until a California court has its say. All indications are that the decision will depend on an interpretation of California's unique marital property laws and the language in the Douglas's settlement agreement.

Source: Bloomberg: Michael Douglas Ex-Wife's 'Wall Street' Suit Is Tossed Over Venue Issue; Karen Freifeld, 11/15/2010

How Much Life Insurance do You Need After Divorce?

How Much Life Insurance Do You Need After Divorce?
(provided by Ann O'Flanagan, Esq.)

Experts believe that a surviving spouse with children needs at least $100,000.00 worth of insurance for every $500.00 of pre-tax income. If you require $3,000.00 a month ($36,000.00 per year) to cover your expenses, your spouse should have $600,000.00 of life insurance. ($3,000.00/500.00 = 6; 6 x 100,000.00 = $600,000.00) of insurance to meet your bills. The surviving souse would invest the $600,000.00 at a conservative interest rate of 6 % which would generate $36,000.00 a year in interest before taxes. Because the surviving spouse and children would be living off the interest, rather than the principal. the income would last forever. Many people feel that $50.000.00 worth of insurance, that's commonly part of, an employee benefit's package. is enough. It is not.Therefore, at the time of divorce, it is imperative that additional insurance be obtained so that, in the event that your spouse dies, and alimony and child support ceases, the surviving spouse and children have sufficient funds to live on.To get life insurance "by telephone or on line" the following sources can be considered:

InsuranceQuote Services 800-972-1104
http://www.iquote.com/

MasterQuote 800-337-5433
http://www.masterquote.com/

QuickQuote 800-867-2404
http://www.quickquote.com/

Quotesmith.com 800-556-9393
http://www.insure.com/

TermQuote 800-444-8376
http://www.termquote.com/

Information provided by: Ann O'Flanagan located at http://www.divorcesource.com/NJ/oflanagan.html

Do I have to pay alimony?

The short answer is: “It depends.”

Georgia law provides that alimony, or spousal support, may be awarded to one spouse in the event of a divorce or separation. At times, spousal support is awarded on a temporary basis before the divorce is final. Alimony may be paid to either a husband or a wife. Georgia law provides 8 factors which the court determine alimony.

1. The standard of living established during the marriage;
2. The duration of the marriage;
3. The age and the physical and emotional condition of both parties;
4. The financial resources of each party;
5. Where applicable, the time necessary for either party to acquire sufficient education or training to enable him to find appropriate employment;
6. The contribution of each party to the marriage, including, but not limited to, services rendered in homemaking, child care, education, and career building of the other party;
7. The condition of the parties, including the separate estate, earning capacity, and fixed liabilities of the parties; and
8. Such other relevant factors as the court deems equitable and proper.

Alimony may not be awarded to a requesting spouse if the separation between the parties was caused by that party's adultery or desertion. There are also other, variable factors that will influence a judge’s decision to award alimony. Some of these factors are within the client’s control such as:

• A party’s behavior during trial;
• A party’s willingness to be open and honest in disclosing financial information
• The age of the children of the marriage, if any
• Both parties’ employment status / prospects

Georgia Code §19-6-1 & §19-6-5