...About Alimony

Carolyn’s answer: If you are being sued for alimony, it is very important that we talk to you and help you develop as many defenses as possible.  We’ll first look at fault.  Why did the marriage break up?  Is it because your spouse, your ex-spouse, is a prescription drug addict?  Is it because he or she had an affair?  Were they mentally cruel to you?  Those kinds of things will be evaluated, and they factor into the amount and duration of alimony in North Carolina.  Next, you have to be able to maintain some lifestyle of yourself, and frequently with divorces, there simply is not enough money to go around.  So, we’ll have to look at your budget and your lifestyle and make sure that if you have enough money to pay alimony that it’s well done.  Now, we’ll also have to look at whether or not you have a closely-held business. I think people with closely-held businesses have to be particularly careful in analyzing, because courts can get confused about cash flow versus income.  So if you have an s-corporation or any kind of flow through entity, there may be income, but no cash.  So, we have to take particular concern with that.  For this or any other family law matter please contact us here at Woodruff Family Law Group.  

Carolyn’s answer: You need alimony.  You were dependent on your spouse for your lifestyle.  So what do you do now?  You can file a claim with the court for alimony.  The court cannot award you alimony if you’ve had an affair, unfortunately.  Unless, both you and your ex had an affair.  So, we will consider that.  We’ll talk about other fault grounds and why the marriage ended.  Next, we’ll look at your budget.  We’ll have some forms for you to fill out and help design a budget for you that will carry on your new lifestyle. When we get this information together, as well as other information that you supply, we will present it to the court, and the court will make a determination on your alimony claim.  For this and any other law matter, please contact us here at Woodruff Family Law Group. 

Carolyn’s Answer:  Divorce taxation issues can be complex.  Here we’ll discuss alimony and when it’s deductible and when it’s not.  Now, with regard to alimony, it would ordinarily be deductible to the payer and income to the recipient.  But, there are certain technicalities under the Internal Revenue Code that will be important to assure that the tax status is appropriately taken into consideration.  First, it has to be pursuant to a written court order or a written agreement that is notarized.  If you don’t have that, you’re not going to have an alimony deduction or alimony income.  And, there are some other technical points that you’ll need to discuss with your family lawyer or personal CPA, but generally, the alimony recipient will need to pay estimated taxes, so be a little careful about that issue.  For this or any other family law matter, please contact us here at Woodruff Family Law Group.