“Big Bang Theory” Kaley Cuoco is divorcing tennis player husband, Ryan Sweeting.
KALEY CUOCO DIVORCE
After only being married for 21 months, Kaley Cuoco, 29, and Ryan Sweeting, 28, have decided to divorce, announcing the split via Cuoco’s rep on Sept. 25, with this:“Kaley Cuoco and Ryan Sweeting have mutually decided to end their marriage. They ask for privacy at this time. No further statement will be issued regarding this matter.” The two have cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their divorce. Cuoco and Sweeting signed a prenuptial agreement one month prior to being wed on Dec. 31, 2013. In that document, the couple agreed to both spousal support and property assets.
SPOUSAL SUPPORT
Alimony, also known as spousal support, is for people who were legally married and provides financial assistance to them. It recognizes the contributions a partner made to the marriage and is intenced to help the partner obtain financial independence. The rules regarding spousal support differs from one state to another.
BASICS OF SPOUSAL SUPPORT
When a court hears a case for spousal support, it considers a number of issues including how long the marriage lasted, what the needs are of each spouse, the standard of living the marriage created and maintained, assets, spousal age, and many other factors that are specific to different states. The court sets the length of time spousal support payments are made based on the review of arguments made. Payments typically last about the length of the marriage if it’s less than 10 years. In other words, if the marriage lasted six years, the length of spousal supports payments to be paid is three years. For longer marriages, the court may not set a specific time for spousal support payments. In a case such as this, your divorce attorney must proved your side for the duration. Your attorney can help you establish your case for the amount of time you’re seeking for spousal support, whether you are receiving or paying the payments. Using common law, the court will listen to all arguments and then decide on the spousal support duration.
LIFETIME OR PERMANENT SPOUSAL SUPPORT
“Lifetime” or “Permanent” spousal support is when the support must be paid to the receiving spouse until the paying spouse dies. Sometimes it is ordered to be paid until the receiving spouse remarries, however this isn’t always the case. Sometimes the court will rule that even if the receiving spouse remarries they must still be paid spousal support. Since women are becoming a stronger element in the workforce, “permanent” or “lifetime” spousal support is being awarded less often, if at all. An appellate court has stated:
As recognized by our Supreme Court, the public policy of this state has progressed from one which entitled some women to lifelong alimony as a condition of the marital contract of support, to one that entitles eithis spouse to post-dissolution support for only so long as is necessary to become self-supporting.
When determinig spousal support, the court usually requires the highis earner, whether they are the husband or the wife, to assist the lower earner in an effort to help maintain their standard of living for a specified period of time.
TAX STRATEGY
If you are receiving spousal support is that you have to declare it as income on your taxes. When calculating spousal support (i.e., alimony) agreements, you have to remember this rule since it impacts the bottom line of your finances. The decision and ruling reflects your intentions when it’s time to do your taxes. For example, you may decide that the spouse who is paying the spousal support should agree to pay the tax liability of the spouse who is receiving the spousal support. You should discuss this with your family law attorney during the hearing for your spousal support determination. If you’re still on good terms with your spouse, it would be helpful to discuss and decide on the best tax deal that would work for you both. If you’re not on good times, this might be difficult to come to a mutual tax deal decision, but if you can manage come to a mutual agreement it will save both of you lots of time and headaches when it’s tax season. If you get spousal support you should prepare for a potential impace when tax time comes. Your ex isn’t able to withhold income taxes from your support checks, which means you have to account for the taxes when you file your tax return. Because of this you may want to consider paying taxes on a quarterly basis, which will save you from being hit with a big tax liability when April 15th comes around. If you’re paying spousal support remember you can deduct the payments on your income taxes. However, you can’t deduct child support or any property distribution. The IRS frequently scrutinizes spousal support payments for the first three years you make the payments. This is to make sure that you’re not disguising the spousal support payments as property distribution or something else related to your divorce. A divorce attorney understands all the ins and outs of tax issues relating to divorce, and can help you understand the issues during the spousal support hearings and afterward, after you begin to make the payments.
MARITAL PROPERTY
If you’re going through a divorce, and you haven’t signed a prenuptial agreement that already denotes how marital property will be divided, you’ll want to do everything you can to protect yourself financially. Doing so means completely understanding marital property division, and what is considered community or separate property. Keep in mind that you are allowed to divide your marital property any way you’d like to. The only reason your state laws might play a role is if you and your spouse cannot agree to how the property will be divided and you need to go to court.
SEPARATE AND COMMUNITY PROPERTY
. Occasionally the highis wage earner is given 60 percent to 75 percent of the property.
PROTECTING YOURSELF DURING MARITAL PROPERTY DIVISION
Regardless of how your marital property is divided, you need to protect yourself. Your ex might not make the payments for various reasons – lack of money, spite, illness. In that case you might need to return to court or various other means of collecting the lost payment. Because of that, it’s often advised that you protect yourself by getting cash in hand once the divorce agreement is reached. If it’s decided that your ex will pay you out following the sale of an asset, wait until the sale is final, and then ensure you get the money to finalize your divorce. There are various things to be taken into consideration during divorce and spousal support and marital property decision. A skilled and qualified family law attorney can assist you to make sure you receive a fair case. For advice on divorce and spousal support issues you need an expert law firm such as (619) DIVORCE. For advice on divorce and spousal support, you need the expert law firm of (619) DIVORCE. Schedule a consultation today.
(619) DIVORCE
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San Diego, CA 92101
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