Finances in Divorce

I, unfortunately, am very familiar with this topic. I went through a divorce about 15 years ago. It’s a difficult, emotional period for anyone involved with a divorce. See our video here.

There are many financial issues when people are separating their lives:

Dividing property – including:

  • Retirement plans
  • Pensions
  • Employer retirement plans
  • Health savings accounts
  • Annuities
  • Brokerage accounts
  • Dividing debt
  • Making sure both parties have insurance
  • Retirement planning
  • Custody of children
  • Evaluating estate plans

There is so much uncertainty and so many issues to deal with all at an emotional period.

Tax Issues for Divorce

For this episode, I interview Amy Wall, an Enrolled Agent, which means she is licensed by the IRS to represent taxpayers in tax matters. She has a degree in Economics and an MBA. She has a tax practice at Tucson Tax Team. After going through her own divorce about a decade ago, she got very interested in divorce taxation and has even published a small book on the subject called Divorce and Taxes: What you should know before you sign. Available on Amazon.

Some of the topics that we cover in our interview include:

• What are your filing status options in the year when the divorce was finalized?
• What is involved in filing Married Filing Single (MFS) in a community property state?
• How does tax planning factor into divorce settlements?
• How is the split of assets taxed? Real estate and accounts.
• How are taxes calculated on retirement accounts? and on capital gains?
• What can you expect for taxes after divorce? For partners who earn about the same and for unequal earners?
• How is alimony taxed and deducted?  Who gets the benefit?
• How is child support taxed?
• What are common pitfalls for divorcing couples?

Thank you – what is the best way for people to get in touch with you

She can be reached at 520-777-7844 or at amy@tucsontaxteam.com.