Divorce, Marital Property, and Taxes

A recent decision was entered by the Pennsylvania Superior Court, Balicki v. Balicki, which talked about some of the tax aspects of divorce. In a blog posted by my colleague, Brian Vertz, there is a discussion of the tax aspects of alimony as discussed in that opinion. However, that case also discussed deducting taxes from the value of marital property.

Protecting the Family Business

It was reported in the My Family Law Celebrity Blog that, prior to their marriage earlier this summer, Hilary Duff and NHL hockey player Mike Comrie signed a prenutial agreement. That blog posits that one of the motivating reasons for the execution of the prenuptial agreement was protecting Comrie’s interest in the family business, though I suspect that Hilary, who be worth as much as $25 million dollars, may have to protect her assets as well.

Winning Big!

There is a movie that was recently released called, ‘The Lottery Ticket” which deals with the trials and tribulations of someone with a winning lottery ticket. It was reported on philly.com that a person in Bucks County, Pennsylvania won $250,000 in the Mega-Millions drawing on Friday, August 13, 2010. I frequently use the example of lottery winnings when talking to clients and students about what is and what is not marital property.

The Impact of there being “Another Woman”

It is not uncommon when a husband and wife end their relationship, that one or both of them become involved with other people. For some, that new relationship started before the husband and wife have actually separated; in such cases, that is usually the reason for the dissolution of the marriage. In recent news, it was reported that American Idol winner and Broadway performer Fantasia Barrino was named as the “other woman” in the divorce between Paula and Antwaun Cook in North Carolina. What would such allegations mean if the case were brought in Pennsylvania?

Some cases just don’t go away…

In family law, cases can come back, again and again. Child support and child custody cases can come back repeatedly as the children get older and the situation changes for all involved. What some people don’t realize is that prenuptial agreement cases can come back – and when they do, it is usually a bad situation for the attorney involved.

Dissecting the Tiger-Elin Divorce Settlement (Part II)

As I mentioned in a prior post, it was reported that, as a result of their divorce settlement, Elin Nordegren is supposed to receive $750 million from Tiger Woods. Since Elin in forbidden under the alleged terms of the settlement to discuss the case, the specifics of the deal can only be disclosed by Tiger. There are many things that can go into a divorce settlement.

Dissecting the Tiger-Elin Divorce Settlement (Part I)

Many of the details of the settlement between Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren are sketchy. According to this article from the LA Times’ blog, the value of the assets that Elin is going to receive as a resolution of the dissolution of her marriage from Tiger is worth $750 million.

From the Wall to the Courtroom

You do not need to be an expert in social networking, marketing, or public relations to know that social networking is exploding across the internet. Millions of people connect through Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and LinkedIn or a regular basis. With so many people sharing their comments, photos, and intimate details of their lives with countless others, there are bound to be repercussions.

As noted in this article, divorce attorneys are noticing more and more situations where what a person posts on his or her Facebook page is becoming evidence in Court. Whether its questionable comments or inappropriate pictures, some courts have no trouble allowing the information to be admitted into evidence.

I myself have been on the receiving end of such tactics. The other side in a support case brought in my client’s adult daughter’s LinkedIn profile which indicated that she was working for my client. My client had to explain on the witness stand that his daughter worked for him briefly for one summer, but no longer worked for him. (They were trying to allege that my client was hiding income.)

In another situation, another client had heard that her husband had asked on his Facebook page, on the day before we were scheduled to be in court, if it would be okay if he (the husband) hopped over counsel table and punched opposing counsel (that would be me) in the face. It was very easy for me to access the husband’s Facebook “wall” to see and print the comment for myself. All I needed was an active Facebook account. I did not even need to be a “friend” of husband to access his Wall.

If you have an account on any of the myriad of social networking websites, you should always assume the possibility of what you post will be printed and used against you in Court. A colleague of mine once said, about e-mail, never send a message that you would not want to see printed as a full page ad in the newspaper. Such advice is even more applicable to social networking sites. What you post on your Wall today may end up as Exhibit “A” when your case goes to Court several months down the road.

Money problems can lead to divorce – no surprise there

This article identified some of the financial problems that may arise, not only in a poor economy, but in a stable economy, which could lead a couple to divorce. The article presents these points in a clear, easy-to-understand way.

The best way to combat some of these “relationship-enders” is communication. If spouses are open and honest with their concerns, financial or otherwise, the impact of many of these issues is lessened. I can not say that the issues will disappear completely. That will depend upon the ability of the spouses to work together to resolve any financial problems.

While it seems obvious, most people, when separating, tend to forget that it costs more to run two households on the same funds that they were using to run one household previously.

I always suggest that anyone contemplating a separation and/or divorce from a spouse meet with an attorney. During that meeting, the spouse should learn what his/her rights are and responsibilities will be in the event of a separation and divorce. Some people, realizing the financial cost to separation and divorce, decide the better course of action is to try to make the marriage work.

It is also important to keep in mind that the less expensive alternative to litigating a divorce may be mediation or some other form of alternative dispute resolution.

If you are in south eastern Pennsylvania and you want to talk more about your rights and responsibilities incident to a divorce or separation, contact me.

A new website

I just published a new website that focuses on my services as a mediator. Here is the link: ML Viola Mediation Services