If you’ve been through a divorce, then you know how tough it is to prepare for every situation. You really know it’s hard when, the IRS has a special publication with a comprehensive list of circumstances for divorced and separated individuals in its Publication 504. Here is the current URL: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p504/
There are many unique effects of a divorce, as it tends to complicate every aspect of your everyday life. In addition to the many challenges it presents, you must work to untangle your financial situation, and following a complicated divorce, tax issues become even more complex than they already were.
The terms of your divorce are you unique to you, so work closely with your accountant, especially the first time you file taxes after your divorce. This can help you figure out your filing status and possible tax deductions and credits.
Your Filing Status After Divorce
While legal issues might bring discussions down to the level of cold, harsh language and a complicated contract, your divorce is still a very personal event. However, the IRS doesn’t leave room to take things personally – its basic rules are firm and fairly simple.
Your tax filing status is determined by the status of your marriage on the last day of the year. If your divorce is final any time before December 31st, you can file as single or head of household for that year. If your divorce proceedings and paperwork aren’t complete by December 31st, then as far as the IRS is concerned, you are still married and must file accordingly.
If you have one or more child and can meet a few conditions, you can file as head of household and get a substantial tax exemption. To qualify, you must meet these requirements:
You are unmarried or “considered unmarried” on the last day of the year
You must have paid more than half of the cost of maintaining your home for the year
A “qualifying person” lived with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences, such as school). However, if the “qualifying person” is your dependent parent, he or she does not have to live with you.
Furthermore, you can claim a dependency exemption for your child or children as long as they lived with you in your home for the majority of the year, unless the terms of your divorce order give that right to your former spouse.
If your spouse wants to file a joint return, you don’t necessarily have to agree, but if you don’t file an objection or your own return, then the joint return is valid, even without your signature. If your former spouse is going to file a joint return and you want your own independent return on the record, then file under the status of married filing separately as soon as possible. If you expect this issue to raise a problem, discuss it immediately with your former spouse, or your mediator if the two of you aren’t speaking directly.
If your former spouse files a return that you discover to be fraudulent, you can apply for innocent spouse relief on the grounds that you did not know about or encourage these actions. This will hopefully keep you from incurring any penalties. You can also apply for innocent spouse relief if your former spouse has racked up a large tax bill that you didn’t contribute to.
At WHYmediate?, Find out if mediation can allow you to resolve Divorce conflicts in a positive learning environment.
WHYmediate? Mediation Services
4500 South Lakeshore Drive Suite 300
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 777-5500
http://whymediate.solutions
Divorce, you can go to court or you can choose mediation! Did you even know that you had the right to that choice?
Our divorce courts function under the same basic guidelines used by courts that deal with other disputes. Often, you will find these rules do not work well in solving divorce disagreements. Divorcing couples may do better working out solutions using mediation or collaborative efforts. It may be true, in some cases, using traditional divorce court may be a way to proceed.
Consider working out a solution together. If your trust and comfort level allow you and your spouse can sit down and reach agreements on how your possessions and debts will be divided, whether one of you will pay the other support, and how much, and, if you have children, how they are going to be raised. For some couples, reaching a settlement on these issues will be so easy that it can be accomplished in one meeting. For others, it makes sense to keep the stress level down by spreading the task out over several meetings.
It can be tough to use an alternative on your own, if your spouse has a history of intimidating and abusing you so that, almost as a matter of self-preservation, you have given up and "lost" almost all of the arguments that have taken place during your marriage. Attempting to negotiate on your own can be a waste of time in this situation. Your spouse is likely so used to winning all of your arguments that it's likely the only offer of settlement you'll get will be unreasonable, while your spouse refuses to negotiate meaningfully with you.
To be more protected and insure the agreements will be fair and legally enforceable consider going to mediation. Here, the two of you meet with a neutral person, called a mediator, who helps guide you through the process of reaching an agreement on possessions, debts, support, and child custody. The neutral third party may be needed to act as a barrier and make sure that neither party slips something in that may cause problems later on. The knowledge, experience and skill of your mediator is vital to the process and solutions.
If your spouse hires an aggressive lawyer, common when your spouse is angry and wants to use the divorce as a way of obtaining revenge, you are at high risk of spending loads of expensive and comparatively unproductive time in court.
There are some skilled mediators who can overcome this hurdle, particularly those who have had a lot of experience in the field of mediation and therefore can explain to your spouse with some authority what is likely to happen if settlement isn't possible and the case goes to a court trial.
At WHYmediate?, Find out if mediation can allow you to resolve Divorce conflicts in a positive learning environment.
WHYmediate? Mediation Services
4500 South Lakeshore Drive Suite 300
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 777-5500
http://whymediate.solutions
If you are sure you want to activate the big “D” word in your life should you talk it over first?
You may want to consider taking advice on the subject. But, from who? Or is it whom?
You may have already been talking with your circle of friends. This may be the least likely place to get good advice. It does depend on who they are and what they do for a living. If one or more of them is a professional in a field that is related to family relations they may have informed answer.
Consider that except in rare cases (drug addiction, violence, illegal activities) will your church give you truly unbiased advice. Their goal is generally to keep families together. While there are many advantages to that goal it may not be as right for you as you would like.
Watching the many TV gurus is also a place that will offer few truly good ideas for your specific situation.
Depending on many factors your financial situation may require one or more financial professionals to help you navigate the changes that will come with a divorce.
The presence of children can add additional layers of complexity to the dissolution of your married life. It may be helpful to work with someone who is familiar with how divorce will affect the children from your marriage.
Is calling a divorce lawyer the best way to begin your divorce process? Will their advice be truly unbiased? Have you ever considered or used mediation to resolve a conflict? Have you ever considered it as part of the best way to end a marriage? Mediation will save you money, time, aggravation, and stress plus it will give you more control over your case.. You will also have the liberty of talking about things that a judge may not even have the authority to discuss! The private mediation process is so much more flexible and informal that folks can communicate better. When you add our WHY discovery process to the mediations steps, you get to have all the learning, coaching and growth that accompanies our cutting edge process, along with your mediated settlement – AND, all keeping you out of court and saving you money and time!
Who pays for mediation? The cost of mediation is often shared equally by the persons involved unless they agree otherwise. Sometime you can take the retainer or mediation fees from a joint account. Or you can determine a fair share of these fees based upon the difference in your earnings.
At WHYmediate?, Find out if mediation can allow you to resolve Divorce conflicts in a positive learning environment.
WHYmediate? Mediation Services
4500 South Lakeshore Drive Suite 300
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 777-5500
http://whymediate.solutions
To Divorce or Not to Divorce, Is That Your Question? It is now more acceptable than ever to walk away from an unhappy marriage. But in doing so are some of us giving up too easily?
Of course, you are not alone in considering to leave your marriage. One in two marriages in the U.S. now ends in divorce, and yet, despite the statistic, what happens after all those divorces is often ignored.
No one expects it to be easy, especially when there are children involved, but does life-after-divorce meet the expectations of those divorcing have of it? Do they feel released from an unhappy marriage? Or do they secretly and sadly wonder if there could have been another way forward? In short, could their marriages have been made to work?
Or could the divorce have had a much better outcome?
Many people think walking away from an unhappy marriage is the only thing to do and yet, in many families, that is not the case. Many second and third marriages also fail. Statistically, these marriages are more likely to break down than first marriages. The couples can bring the same baggage to the ensuing marriages. They also bring failure, disappointment, guilt and children.
Most children actually want their parents to remain together, even if the marriage is unhappy. Ask nearly any child of parents who are separating what it is they want, and they will say, "Mummy and Daddy to be together again." Children are often unaware of the level of tension in a household. People tend to forget this.
Are you beginning to question why you got married?
Never make life-changing decisions in the midst of emotional turmoil. Such consequential decisions should not be made when tensions are high. Get on level ground (so to speak) first so you can look at things more rationally. Do you, will you need help to accomplish this?
Are you ready to get divorced? If you're unhappy and think you're ready to call it quits you may need a counseling resource. Your next steps will be crucial to the entire rest of your life. What outcomes are you looking for? What are the real outcomes you can realistically expect?
At WHYmediate?, We believe in open communication – full disclosure of all possible issues, obstacles and solutions, sharing information, stories, experiences that will help you. We believe in progress, and that means change, transition and how to rationally and successfully let go.
At WHYmediate?, Find out if mediation can allow you to resolve Divorce conflicts in a positive learning environment.
WHYmediate? Mediation Services
4500 South Lakeshore Drive Suite 300
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 777-5500
http://whymediate.solutions
Your first question might just be, “How does mediation work?”
At a mediation session each person involved in the dispute presents a summary of his or her point of view. If you have an attorney, they are often allowed to attend, but you then have to pay for three professionals in the same room at the same time, and most parties do not want to spend that much money these days in these challenging financial times. The mediator will meet with everyone together and may also meet individually with each side. This offers participants the opportunity to communicate to the mediator their real interests in the dispute as well as to vent anger or frustrations outside the presence of the opposing side. The mediator will work with each person until an agreement is reached that is acceptable to everyone. Once they do reach agreement, the mediator or the attorneys will put the agreement or the final consent decree or stipulated agreement in writing and signed by the people involved, with the advice of their attorneys which can then be filed as an order to be approved by the judge assigned to your case.
You also might want to understand your benefits to using mediation.
Control – People keep control over the resolution of their own problem.
Saves Time and Hassle – Disputes can be settled promptly. Mediation sessions can be scheduled as soon as everyone agrees to use mediation to resolve the dispute, and often before a lawsuit is filed.
Costs Less – Mediation costs are significantly less than taking a case to trial, often from 50% to 90% savings.
Collaborative Interaction – Mediation fosters better long-term relationships through cooperative problem-solving and improved communication.
Privacy and Confidentiality – The mediator and the people in the dispute must maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed during mediation.
Flexibility – Although a judge may order a case to proceed to mediation, the mediation may be terminated at any time by the people involved or by the mediator. Settlement is also entirely voluntary. If you cannot reach an agreement, you still have the right to take your dispute before a judge or jury.
How do I start the mediation process?
Schedule an appointment at WHYmediate? Mediation Services for an hour of education and to see if this cutting edge process is right for your divorce. The mediator will give you a phone consultation at NO CHARGE, that is complimentary, that is long enough to answer your initial process questions and to see if your case is right for WHYmediate. Our aim at WHYmediate Mediation Services, is to serve as many folks who are willing to try this cutting edge process as possible. There needs to be a good fit between you, the other party, and of course WHYmediate and our mediators.
At WHYmediate?, we give you the tools you need to resolve Divorce conflicts in a positive learning environment.
WHYmediate? Mediation Services
4500 South Lakeshore Drive Suite 300
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 777-5500
http://whymediate.solutions
We know that stress can cause or exacerbate any physical or mental illness. Our lives are a timeline full of events. Do you know which ones affect you the most?
In 1967 Psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe looked at the medical records of more than 5,000 patients to see if there was a link between stressful events and illness.
The patients were asked to look at a list of forty-three life events and check them off if they had experienced any of the stressful life events within the past two years.
This hallmark study opened up areas that have been reviewed over the last 4 decades and found to be valid today as they were when the study was first completed.
The top ten most stressful events listed on the original Holmes-Rahe Life Stress List included:
1. Death of a spouse
2. Divorce
3. Marriage separation
4. Jail term
5. Death of a close relative
6. Severe injury or illness
7. Marriage
8. Fired from job
9. Marriage reconciliation
10. Retirement
Did you notice that four of the top ten are related to marriage? Divorce is only second to the death of a spouse. Some experts have concluded that Divorce is actually more stressful than the death of a spouse. In death, the spouse has little choice in leaving the survivor. In a divorce the spouse is making a choice to leave, a true rejection event.
It seems to make common sense that if you are experiencing any stressful life events that this can increase your anxiety and possibly increase your risk for medical and mental illness.
At WHYmediate?, we give you the tools you need to resolve Divorce conflicts in a positive learning environment.
WHYmediate? Mediation Services
4500 South Lakeshore Drive Suite 300
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 777-5500
http://whymediate.solutions
Do you need or want to get divorced? The decision to divorce is critical, with consequences that can last a lifetime. Marital problems, pain in your relationship and frustration with it may or may not always mean divorce.
If your marriage has never been anything more than two people living together and getting their own needs met then divorce may be the answer. Marriage is a unified coupling of two people who work for the best interest of the relationship. Married couples work together for the good of the relationship. If there is no couple; only two people fighting for their own needs now would be a good time to either commit to changing the dynamics of the relationship or parting ways.
Many events occur in your life divorce is one of the hardest It can, however be necessary and when it's necessary, it's best to have someone on your side that knows how to navigate the process. For you mediation may be the best route to go.
Are you angry at your spouse and threatening divorce out of frustration over the problems in the marriage or life? Do you use threats of divorce to get your way or as a means of having power over your spouse? Are you frustrated and feel that threatening divorce will finally get your spouse’s attention and hoping they will take you seriously? If it is solutions you are looking for, threatening divorce may not get you where you want to be. Do you need couples therapy? If it is divorce you need then stop threatening and take a mature, informed step in the right direction and consider mediation.
If you are ready for divorce you will have let go of any emotional attachments you have to your spouse. These are good feelings and negative feelings that often come into play during marital conflict. Deciding on divorce at a time when you are overwhelmed with emotions won't solve problems. It generates problems and compounds any hurt and frustration you may be feeling.
Unless you can look at your spouse as an individual who deserves your respect, even during the divorce process you are asking for trouble. If you cannot, the divorce process will be riddled with frustration, anger and distrust of the motives of your spouse.
Are you hoping that a divorce will mean your spouse will start treating you better? Maybe they will realize what they have lost and make the changes you need them to make. If so, you are divorcing for the wrong reasons. Divorce will only promote conflict, not resolve it.
Your mindset will determine what kind of life you will have after your divorce. Will you be strong, take responsibility and let go of any anger and resentment? Or, will you remain bitter, resentful and feel like a victim? The attitude you choose to live with will determine, not only the kind of divorce you have but the quality of life you have after you divorce.
At WHYmediate?, we give you the tools you need to resolve conflict in a positive learning environment.
WHYmediate? Mediation Services
4500 South Lakeshore Drive Suite 300
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 777-5500
http://whymediate.solutions
The WHYmediate? process helps people resolve conflicts and re-create relationships.
Mediation is a conflict resolution process – a smart alternative to going to court, saving time, money, energy, stress and paperwork.
You will walk away with an in-depth understanding of how to best address communication with the other party. Better mutual understanding can lead to both current and future resolution!
Your guided mediation process to resolve your conflict and move you from WHY? to YES!
Stay out of court; avoid the crushing legal fees associated with high court costs and still successfully resolve your conflict!
Did you know that your conflict can result in a lasting growth experience instead of the usual permanent destruction of relationships after the court battle is over? Get on with life, sooner!
In the WHYmediate? process, we will move you from conflict to mutually agreeable terms and mutual understanding – sometimes with grace, sometimes with technical brilliance and sometimes with shear gut intuition and will.
At WHYmediate? we bring vast experience in areas of the law, mediation, coaching and healing to the table and empower you to do your own research and find the values of your assets and extent of your liability.
At WHYmediate? we believe in open communication – full disclosure of all possible issues, obstacles and solutions, sharing information, stories, experiences that will help you.
At WHYmediate? we believe in progress, and that means change, transition and letting go. Or to put it simpley - Resolution
WHYmediate? Mediation Services
4500 S. Lakeshore Dr. Ste. 300
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 777-5500
http://whymediate.solutions
