By Dante J. Martinez
Breaking up is tough, especially if it was with a long term, close-companion. Unfortunately, this separation is about to become a lot harder for many due to the GOP tax bill that is set for votes. This bill, which eliminates the tax deduction for alimony payments, could make the process of ending a marriage more expensive for couples in the middle to lower classes. For those who are unfamiliar, alimony payments are divorce settlements that of which are separate from child support. These payments are generally what someone would give to the ex-spouse who earns less money, and right now, alimony payments are tax deductible for the payer, and taxed like regular income for the recipient, keeping more money within the family and away from the government. Therefore, eliminating the tax deduction will complicate how child support is calculated and how the assets are divided up.
For the wealthy, they can usually afford higher taxes on alimony payments, so it is the people with limited means that are going to feel the impact; and when concerning $200 to $300 dollars per month, separated couples will be replacing a car payment, a month’s rent, even a meal to pay for another’s quality of life. Even with that said, those in the wealthy bracket of life, aren’t safe either from those clauses for couples who are working out a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement will be affected as well. When looking at the GOP tax bill, those who are planning to get through a divorce after December 31 should consider if they are okay with these changes because it will not make anything easier for them. For those who are in the process of divorce or know someone who is, be sure to share this article and check out our professional documents to buy and save time on the work load–including a discounted prenuptial document.
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Dec2017