Cook v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 201948, 2019 WL 2011087 (2019) (a) Facts: An unmarried couple had a child. A New York court awarded custody to the mother. The order was silent on the tax exemption for the child. The parties orally agreed that the father could claim the exemption. The…
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Retirement Plans and Bankruptcy
In re Kiley, 595 B.R. 595 (Bankr. D. Utah 2018) (a) Facts: Husband and wife were divorced in Utah. The divorce decree awarded the wife a lump-sum payment from the husband’s retirement plan and ordered that she be named as the plan’s survivor beneficiary. The wife then declared bankruptcy. The…
Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Denied Her Husband’s Benefits.
Hoak v. Plan Adm’r of Plans of NCR Corp., 389 F. Supp. 3d 1234 (N.D. Ga. 2019) (a) Facts: Two wives were divorced from their husbands. Both husbands were members of a senior executive retirement plan. The plan provided that survivor benefits would be paid to the “eligible spouse” of…
Double Trouble
Metro. Life Ins. Co. v. McDonald, ___ F. Supp. 3d ___, 2019 WL 2419659 (E.D. Mich. 2019) (a) Facts: Husband wife were divorced in Florida. Their divorce decree incorporated a property settlement agreement providing that the husband would name the wife as beneficiary of his employer-provided life insurance. Despite the…
Who is entitled to benefits?
Culwick v. Wood, 384 F. Supp. 3d 328 (E.D.N.Y. 2019) (a) Facts: Husband and wife were divorced. Their divorce decree incorporated a separation agreement. The agreement provided: [T]he Husband shall otherwise retain all pensions and annuities acquired by him at any time, including during the term of the marriage. .…
Death before QDROs
Miletello v. RMR Mech., Inc., 921 F.3d 493 (5th Cir. 2019) (a) Facts: Husband and wife were engaged in divorce proceedings. A settlement agreement awarded to the wife $500,000 of the funds in the husband’s 401(k) plan. Before the husband complied with the order, he died. Two days later, the…
Beneficiaries and QDROs
Christopoulos v. Trout, 343 F. Supp. 3d 812 (N.D. Ill. 2018) (a) Facts: Husband filed a divorce action against wife in Illinois. Immediately thereafter, he changed the beneficiary of his employer-provided group life insurance, naming a series of relatives in varying percentages. The wife immediately asked the divorce judge to…
NFL Wives and Survivor Benefits
Garcia Tatupu v. Bert Bell/Peter Rozelle NFL Player Ret. Plan, 296 F. Supp. 3d 407 (D. Mass. 2017), aff’d, 747 F. App’x 873 (1st Cir. 2019) (a) Facts: The husband, a former NFL football player, was divorced from his wife in Massachusetts in 1997. The decree incorporated a separation agreement,…
Alimony Tax and Good Faith
Faust v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2019 105, 2019 WL 3938725 (2019) (a) Facts: Husband and wife were divorced in Virginia. The wife was a victim of spousal abuse during the marriage. She was Hispanic; English was not her first language. A divorce settlement agreement, incorporated into the divorce decree, required…
Making amends…and arrears.
Siegel v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2019 11, 2019 WL 643186 (2019) (a) Facts: Husband and wife were divorced in New York. The final decree ordered the husband to pay to the wife spousal maintenance of $10,110 per month. The husband failed to pay, and the wife filed enforcement proceedings. The…