It’s That Taxing Time of Year Again
As you probably know by now, Congress acted just in time to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” by passing the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. While there are many provisions of this new tax [...]
Disempower Your Ex-Spouse
In the past two blogs I addressed a law in New York that provides for the revocation upon divorce of dispositions to a former spouse under a will as well as beneficiary designations found in [...]
Change Your Beneficiaries Post Divorce!
A few years after Paul’s second marriage ended in divorce, he retired and when he did he met with a financial planner to plan his retirement. He set up a retirement account and named his [...]
’Till Death Do Us Part?
Did you know that, under the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL), any designation of your spouse as beneficiary or any appointment of him or her as a fiduciary (executor, guardian, trustee) is revoked upon [...]
The Real Cost of an Affair
A couple of weeks ago, I helped Christine and Allen reach a settlement agreement that seemed to be very fair to each of them. The truth was that this young couple had little to divide [...]
Prenuptial Agreements – How to Protect Your Children
Many people are concerned that having a prenuptial agreement prepared prior to being married is going to create an adversarial relationship with their new spouse. However, having a prenuptial agreement prepared is probably still a [...]
The True Cost of Custody Litigation
I recently had a client email me requesting help with some parenting issues she was having with her former husband. My client was asking about how she would go about filing a petition in court [...]
Take it from the Judge: The Courtroom is no place for a Family!
I read with interest a statement by Minneapolis Family Court Judge Bruce Peterson who offered that it was “time, perhaps, to get courts out of divorce.” In an editorial published for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, [...]
Finances – What’s in Your Credit Score?
Phil Reece is a friend and a Licensed Loan Originator with Homestead Funding Corp. He recently sent me an article on credit scores and reports that I want to share since many of my clients [...]
Can You Afford to Leave?
In a recent blog I talked about a client who was worried that he would be “charged” with abandonment if he left the marital home before he had a legal separation or divorce. I outlined [...]