At exactly 5:31 PM yesterday, I reached a milestone in my career. Over the last decade or so, one of my activities has been to instruct lawyers, mental health professionals, and financial professionals in negotiation, dispute resolution and facilitation skills, and Collaborative Practice. I have conducted a variety of trainings, workshops, and classes. Each year […]
How the New Tax Bill Impacts Divorces
The 2017 “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” was signed into law today. Although there has been much press about the expected impact of this law, there has been much less focus on impact that is specific to divorced and divorcing families. Based on my initial review, here are some of the main ways in which […]
Your Divorce Strategy: What Is Your Goal?
When getting divorced, it’s both tempting and easy to skip over the most important step. What’s most important is not filing with the court. It is not figuring out what your rights might be. It is not meeting with a divorce lawyer. What’s most important? It’s formulating goals about what’s most important for your divorce […]
Medical Insurance for Ex-Spouses after Divorce
You’re getting divorced, and there’s much to consider. With all the changes, it’s easy to overlook how divorce will affect your medical insurance. If you’re covered through your spouse’s employment, your coverage through your ex-spouse will be canceled as of the end of the month in which your divorce is finalized. It will be up […]
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) and Divorce
In years past, many companies offered stock options to incentivize employees. Especially in the tech industry, stock options became a common form of compensation for professional employees. In recent years, stock options are much less commonly seen by divorce lawyers. Instead, restricted stock units (RSUs) have become part of the compensation scheme for many companies […]
Divorce or (Legal) Separation?
I often get questions about whether people are legally separated when they move apart, and about the differences between divorce and legal separation. What are the differences? A “legal separation” occurs when a court issues a Decree of Legal Separation. The same things are addressed in a legal separation as in a divorce–property and debts […]
Considerations for a Grey Divorce
You’ve probably heard of it—the so-called “grey divorce,” when a couple divorces in the later stages of life—when “grey haired.” As the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age, Seattle couples in their 50s, 60s and older are more frequently getting divorced. Older couples face difference circumstances than younger divorcing couples. Younger couples who divorce usually […]
Tax Traps for Spousal Maintenance
The Typical Way Spousal Maintenance Is Treated for Tax Purpose Most divorce settlements with spousal maintenance (alimony) contemplate that payments will be tax-deductible to the payor and taxable to the recipient. This tax choice can reduce the combined income tax when paid to a former spouse who has a lower income tax bracket, and thereby […]
Choosing Between Divorce Mediation and Collaborative Divorce
Almost no one getting divorced seeks to add an exhausting court battle on top of the emotional and financial turmoil that divorce entails. Instead, most seek a path to reach agreements and make their own important decisions about their futures. They recognize that court gives them no control over the most important decisions for their […]
Financial Mistakes in Divorce
What are the most common financial mistakes make in divorce negotiations? Here are five of them: Mistake #1 – Assuming a 50-50 Property Division Is a Given Many who divorce assume that everything should be equally divided. Doing so can be a big mistake. When a court divides property and debt, the law requires the […]