While many people are obviously concerned about core issues such as child custody and parenting time and support payments, you should consider the tax ramifications of your San Diego divorce before signing a settlement agreement. Allen Barron’s seasoned tax attorneys and accounting professionals work with your family law or divorce attorney to ensure that any settlement places you in the best position possible to maximize post-tax income. You may not realize that the way you structure child support and spousal support payments has a tremendous impact on the taxes you will pay or the deductions you will save.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of family attorneys are not tax specialists. They are not qualified to analyze the benefit of structuring a settlement as “family support” versus separate “child support” and “spousal support” payments. They cannot advise you whether to take a monthly payment or a lump sum or asset. You cannot undue mistakes made in your divorce once orders are issued. You and your former spouse are separating your financial lives as well as your family and assets. It is important to take this one chance to get it right.
There are several times when tax red flags should go up during your divorce conversations, and you should contact Allen Barron for a free consultation including, but not limited to:
- Division of a business interest or closely-held company
- Hidden assets or income (if you think your spouse is attempting to conceal income or assets our forensic accountants can track them down)
- Retirement account division
- Property transfers
- Foreign bank accounts, investments and assets
- Your tax status after the divorce
Negotiations during a divorce can be challenging enough. You don’t want to think you’re at the “end” only to find that the solution will penalize you from a tax perspective. If you are considering or in the midst of a divorce with any of the above issues we invite you to contact us for a free consultation at 866-631-3470. Learn how Allen Barron can help to consider the tax ramifications of your San Diego divorce while maximizing the amount of money you get to keep once the settlement is completed and reducing your tax burden during and after the divorce.
