April 15 is either the best of times or the worst of times, depending on if you owe or get a refund. One of the main reasons there is no such thing as a legal separation in New Jersey is due to taxes. The government cares if you are married or not and which box you check on your tax return so they know how to process your tax return paperwork. A legal separation would muddy the tax waters too much. One main tax issue to consider when you are getting divorced is who is claiming the children for tax purposes. You do not have to be the parent of primary residence to claim a child as a dependent. You can fill out an additional form when doing your taxes that allows you to claim a child as a dependent even if they lived with you for less than half the year.
Your divorce agreement should also address how to handle a future audit that addresses the time you were married. What if you get audited three years from now for 2018 and you were divorced in 2019? Additionally, how are you handling your current tax refund/tax bill that addressed the time you were married even though you are now divorced. For example, if you finalized your divorced in January but are due a refund/bill this April for the previous tax year, a tax year in which you were still married.
There are so many issues to consider when getting divorced. At Westfield Mediation, LLC, our divorce mediators help couples address them all, including the tax issues. A mediator knows all the issues to address and does not let any slip through the cracks, like the taxes. What you don’t want is to get divorced in January and then have to go back to court in April because your divorce agreement does not address your tax bill/refund and you do not agree on how to resolve it.
For more information on divorce and divorce mediation, please contact Randi M. Albert, JD, or Michelle Weinberg, M. Ed., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, at Westfield Mediation, LLC at 908.913.0373. View our website at www.westfieldnjmediation.com or email us at info@westfieldnjmediation.com.
Your divorce agreement should also address how to handle a future audit that addresses the time you were married. What if you get audited three years from now for 2018 and you were divorced in 2019? Additionally, how are you handling your current tax refund/tax bill that addressed the time you were married even though you are now divorced. For example, if you finalized your divorced in January but are due a refund/bill this April for the previous tax year, a tax year in which you were still married.
There are so many issues to consider when getting divorced. At Westfield Mediation, LLC, our divorce mediators help couples address them all, including the tax issues. A mediator knows all the issues to address and does not let any slip through the cracks, like the taxes. What you don’t want is to get divorced in January and then have to go back to court in April because your divorce agreement does not address your tax bill/refund and you do not agree on how to resolve it.
For more information on divorce and divorce mediation, please contact Randi M. Albert, JD, or Michelle Weinberg, M. Ed., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, at Westfield Mediation, LLC at 908.913.0373. View our website at www.westfieldnjmediation.com or email us at info@westfieldnjmediation.com.
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