Wolens v. United States, 125 Fed. Cl. 422 (2016) Facts: The parties married in New York, but divorced in England. Their English divorce decree provided for a large initial payment to be made by the husband to the wife, followed by annual payments of £441,667 in 2007, 2008, and 2009.…
Articles Posted in alimony
Pay On Time and in Cash or You Can Forget About that Alimony Deduction (Muniz v. Comm’r)
By: Dana M. Horlick, Attorney, Woodruff Family Law GroupMuniz v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2015-125, 2015 WL 4126356 (2015) (a) Facts: A Florida separation agreement provided that the husband would pay wife $1,000 per month in alimony. The husband did not pay on time, and the court entered an enforcement order directing the husband to pay $6,000 in alimony due under…
Alimony, Separation Agreements, and Attorney Fees: 2015 Tax Court (Milbourne v. Comm’r)
Milbourne v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2015-13, 2015 WL 393040 (2015) (a) Facts: A husband and his wife separated. She proposed a separation agreement, which required him to pay $6,000 per month in alimony. The husband refused to sign this agreement, as he did not want to pay more than $2,500 per…
Alimony Arrearages and Federal Tax Consequences (Iglicki v. Comm’r)
Iglicki v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2015-80, 2015 WL 1886010 (2015) (a) Facts: A Maryland separation agreement required a husband to pay $735 per month in child support to a wife. If the husband defaulted on child support, he would immediately become liable for $1,000 per month in spousal support. Liability…
A Lost Alimony Deduction by Linking to Child Support
Watch out for those hurried, last minute North Carolina agreements that link alimony and child support termination; you could get an unintended tax consequence and the loss of the tax deduction. While the Johnson case, discussed herein, is not a North Carolina case, it could be. Guys and gals, you…
Tax Dangers of Unallocated Family Support (Baur v. Comm’r)
It is tempting to lump child support and post separation support/alimony into a bucket of one dollar amount, sometimes referred to as “family support”. This is particularly tempting in the early part of a case, but it is DANGEROUS. A couple of tax rules will help: Rule 1: Don’t create…
Technicalities on “Death Termination” for Alimony Deduction (Wignall v. Comm’r)
by Carolyn J. Woodruff, JD, CPA, CVANorth Carolina alimony statutes and state case law make technicalities on the “death” element of alimony under federal tax law difficult, and one needs to exercise extreme care when drafting a private alimony agreement or contract in North Carolina. Unlike many states, all alimony awards in North Carolina are not…
So the Wife ends up in Tax Court for Mixing Alimony and Child Support…Don’t Do This! (Schilling v. Comm’r)
by Carolyn J. Woodruff, JD, CPA, CVASchilling v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2012‑256, 2012 WL 3848477 (2012) (a) Facts: The parties settled their divorce case by signing a separation agreement. The agreement awarded the wife $2,450 per month on spousal support for six years. It, further, provided that the wife’s spousal support would drop by specified amounts…