In Part 1, we discussed that proving cohabitation in North Carolina is not an easy task. There have been multiple North Carolina Court of Appeals cases where the dependent spouse and new flame had been dating for years, were blending finances, were vacationing together, and living together as much as…
If you are going through a separation and divorce in North Carolina, one topic that always arises is the dreaded “A” word: Alimony. No one wants to be responsible for supporting their soon to be ex-spouse, and if they are going to be responsible for that support, they want to…
Anderson v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2016-47, 2016 WL 976816 (2016) Facts: An Alabama court entered a pretrial order in a divorce case, requiring both parties to “[m]aintain status quo as to payment of house note or rent, utilities, food, necessities, fixed credit obligations, ” 2016 WL 976816, at *1. After…
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.…
Muniz 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
North 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…