Legal Tips Archives -

What is an MSA?

January 21, 2019January 21, 2019Beki Berrey

What is a marital settlement agreement?

A marital settlement agreement (MSA) is a contract between spouses who have decided to divorce and have agreed on all the details.

An MSA will include distribution of the marital assets and debts. It will include all the details about spousal support and if there are children, will include custody and child support.

Once both spouses have signed the MSA, it gets filed with the court and becomes an enforceable court order.

When parties can agree on all the issues in their divorce, an MSA can make the entire process easier for all involved.

If you are getting divorced and want to see if an an MSA will work for your situation, give me a call to set up an initial consultation!

(707) 532-5789

www.abrahamfamilylaw.com

Disclaimer: This post is not legal advice, and is solely intended to be used as information only. Please speak to a lawyer about your specific case.

Financial Disclosures in Divorce

January 8, 2019January 8, 2019Beki Berrey

I get asked a lot about financial disclosures during divorce.

Most of the time, these questions are from people who don’t have a lot of assets, don’t have very much money in the bank, or weren’t married very long.

“Do I still have to do the preliminary financial disclosures?”

Yes you do!

In California, both parties *must* complete and serve on the other party preliminary financial disclosures which include:

Declaration of Disclosure (FL-140)
Schedule of Assets and Debts (FL-142), and
Income and Expense Declaration (FL-150).
It’s a good idea to fill out the Property Declaration (FL-160) as well.

These documents are not filed with the court, but must be served on the other party within 60 days of filing your petition for dissolution. If you are responding to a petition for dissolution, you also have 60 days from the date you file your response to serve these same forms on the other party.

This step is not optional, but it’s a step that many people either want to skip or don’t know they have to complete because they think they don’t have any assets.

If you have questions about your divorce, call me today to schedule a phone consultation. I am currently accepting new clients!

(707) 532-5789

www.abrahamfamilylaw.com

Do the new alimony laws affect you?

December 18, 2018December 18, 2018Beki Berrey

New law for 2019

Since 1942 alimony has been reportable, as a deduction (for the payor) or income (for the payee) on tax returns. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 repeals this long-standing tax law for all divorces that are finalized after December 31, 2018. It also affects modifications to divorces finalized prior to 2019 that expressly state that the new law should apply). From 1942 until the end of this year, the spouse paying alimony reported those payments thereby reducing their taxable income & tax liability.

This tax benefit served to take some of the sting out of having to make monthly payments to an ex-spouse. For the spouse receiving alimony, it meant reporting those payments as income on their tax return.

Having to pay taxes on these support payments took a bit of the sweetness of those payments away. For more than 75 years, both parties could reap a benefit from alimony payments.

Because of the tax deduction available for the higher wage earner, it was easier for the lower wage earner to negotiate higher alimony payments during divorce settlement discussions. The higher wage earner would benefit by reducing their taxable income and the receiving spouse would benefit by gaining extra support.

With this new law, alimony payments will be treated similarly as child support payments. Child support payments are neither tax deductible nor reportable as income.

Who’s impacted

This will impact all divorces that are finalized after 12/31/18. If you divorce was finalized before 12/31/18, you could still be impacted. This law will impact modifications, but only if the modification expressly state that the new law should apply.

Contact Beki at Abraham Family Law today to schedule an initial phone consultation. She can help you determine if this new law will impact you, and if so how. (707) 532-5789

Disclaimer: This post is not intended as legal advice. Please contact a lawyer to discuss whether the new law impacts your specific case.

Ordered to attend mediation?

December 11, 2018December 11, 2018Beki Berrey

If you are going through a child custody dispute, you have very likely been ordered to attend mediation. What happens as a result of that mediation depends on which California county you are in, and whether your county is a recommending county or a non-recommending county.

In a recommending county (Sonoma County for example): parties attend mediation in an attempt to come to an agreement. If no agreement is made, then the mediator writes up a recommendation report. Both parties as well as the judge receive a copy of this report. The judge relies on the recommendation report, because the mediator has spent more time with the parties than the judge has.

In a non-recommending county (Mendocino County for example): parties attend mediation in an attempt to come to an agreement. If the parties reach an agreement, the mediator drafts the agreement and submits it to the court. If no agreement is reached then the parties will return to court at a later date for further hearings.

It’s important to check the rules in your specific county.

If you have questions about your child custody dispute, call me today to schedule an initial phone consultation. (707) 532-5789.