Splitting a pension with your ex spouse may not be something you thought about when you got married, but it is a definite reality. A pension is a marital asset, and that portion of the pension that was accrued during the time that you were married generally needs to be split with your ex spouse.

A pension earned by one spouse is usually considered a joint asset, as are other retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s and IRAs, though state laws govern the latter. Usually, whatever is earned prior to the marriage remains individual property, while what is earned during the marriage is considered a joint asset.

However, the divisions of pensions in a divorce isn’t always a cut-and-dry situation. For one, unless you are actively receiving a pension (and thus know the exact details of the payment amount and frequency), it can be difficult to pin down its exact value.

Additionally, while a pension is usually considered a joint marital asset, that doesn’t mean it’s always split 50/50. The exact amount varies according to each state’s law and how much of the pension was earned during the marriage. But it’s important to remember that if you and your spouse signed a prenuptial agreement protecting your pension plan, your pension remains yours.

If you have a military or government pension, these are governed by their own specific set of rules and may not be subjected to the same rules when splitting your assets in a divorce.

If you are going to get a divorce, this is one of the items that you will need to discuss with your attorney. Ty Zdravko practices law as a divorce attorney, and family law attorney in Palm Harbor, Clearwater and the surrounding area.

For more information, visit our website at www.divorceboardcertified.com
or call (727) 787-5919.

How much does it cost to get a divorce? It’s king of like, how much does it cost to build a

Stressed young woman checking bills, taxes, bank account balance and calculating expenses in the living room at home

house. It depends. The amount of time that an attorney has to invest in a case depends on a lot of factors. The more time we have to invest, obviously the more we have to charge. Some of the things that make a divorce more time consuming are discussed below.

Disagreements over children. This is one of the most common arguments former couples have during a divorce. Divorcing spouses may disagree over the terms of child support payments or time-sharing. Battles over child custody are extremely common during a contested divorce involving children. As a result, there may be a need for more court proceedings or mediation to work through the disagreements.

Disagreements over alimony. One spouse may have to pay the other spouse alimony, also called spousal support. Like other disagreements during a divorce, disputes over the amount of alimony can necessitate legal proceedings or mediation.

Complex finances are involved. Some divorcing spouses may have incredibly complex finances, such as assets in multiple states or multiple properties. The more complicated your assets, the longer it might take to resolve a divorce. Additionally, divorce can take longer when one spouse is hiding assets or refusing to turn over important financial documents.

On purpose. Divorces can be an extremely emotional process. It is not uncommon for former spouses to lash out at each other financially or professionally. In some cases, one spouse may purposefully delay the time it takes to complete a divorce to hurt the other spouse.

These are only a few common reasons why it may take longer to complete a divorce. Divorce cases involving financial disputes or children may take longer to complete due to the circumstances. Spouses without children, disagreements or complicated finances are more likely to complete their divorce cases faster.

Ty Zdravko practices law as a divorce attorney, and family law attorney in Palm Harbor, Clearwater and the surrounding area.

For more information, visit our website at www.divorceboardcertified.com
or call (727) 787-5919.

If you are about to go through a divorce, taxes are probably the last thing on your mind.

Stressed young woman checking bills, taxes, bank account balance and calculating expenses in the living room at home

But it is something that you need to address.Divorce can be financially devastating enough without paying unnecessary taxes.

Transferring Assets as a result of the settlement
Transferring assets between spouses during a divorce often carries no tax consequences for either party. However, depending on the basis that is invested in certain assets, there could be hidden tax consequences associated with selling that asset. Some assets that may have hidden tax consequences include investment holdings, real estate, and business interests. The tax consequences associated with these assets may end up reducing the value of the assets that appear to be worth more.

Who gets the tax deduction for the children?
The IRS states that a parent who is primarily in charge of parenting a child has the right to claim that child as a dependent on his or her tax return. There is one exception to this rule, however, which is when the child’s custodial parent allocates dependency of the child to the non-custodial parent in a written document. The distribution of these exemptions and any corresponding value needs to be addressed in the divorce decree, and the value should be considered in the overall value of income between the spouses.Individuals are not able to file their taxes jointly for the year they get divorced. If the divorce occurs at the end of the year, it is important for both individuals to adjust their withholdings to account for the change in their filing status. If the divorce occurs earlier in the year, however, there may be no large impact on how the individuals file their taxes. The change in filing status should be considered part of the overall resolution of the divorce.

Are Alimony Payments Deductible

They used to be, but they aren’t anymore. Alimony or separate maintenance payments are not deductible from the income of the payer spouse, or includable in the income of the receiving spouse, if made under a divorce or separation agreement executed after Dec. 31, 2018.

Taking these considerations into account can help divorcing couples minimize the potential pitfalls they may face when filing their taxes. Additionally, both parties should discuss it with their divorce lawyers as well as their financial advisors regarding which tax implications may or may not apply to them.

Ty Zdravko practices law as a divorce attorney, and family law attorney in Palm Harbor, Clearwater and the surrounding area.

For more information, visit our website at www.divorceboardcertified.com
or call (727) 787-5919.

When going through a divorce, usually one of the greatest concerns is getting custody. In today’s world, the courts lean in the direction of working towards join custody, but joint custody is not always awarded, and you want to do whatever you can improve the custody rights that you are awarded.

Where does it make the most sense for your minor children to reside? With you or with your spouse? Is it possible that you and your spouse could agree on this issue? That would certainly would make things easier. Otherwise, it will be up to the court to decide.

When going through a divorce, parents must determine with whom their minor children will live and who will make critical child-rearing decisions. If divorcing parents cannot make these decisions, they take the issue to court. Understanding how the legal system works and getting child custody help from an expert can increase the chance of winning custody.

The primary goal in every child custody case is an arrangement that is in the best interests of the child. A judge must decide on both physical and legal custody, resulting in many potential outcomes. While it is possible to win sole custody in divorce, more parents find themselves getting joint custody. This allows each parent to maintain a physical presence and making important decisions regarding their children’s future.

A safe living environment that includes necessary amenities is important, so a parent seeking custody should create this, whether remaining in the marital home or moving to a different residence. If possible, the parent should find a home in the school district the child attended before the divorce because this maintains stability. If the parent must change jobs, the work schedule should accommodate the daily routine of the child.

Stability Is Important
Stability should also be the focus with personal relationships. A parent trying to win custody during divorce should not quickly begin a new relationship that involves cohabitating or spending excessive time together. Instead, the adult should take time to adjust to the new single lifestyle and focus on the needs of each child. There will be plenty of time in the future to resume dating.

Most spouses disagree at some point during a divorce but they should try to avoid a custody battle at all costs. A parent who puts the needs of the children above all other issues and keeps children away from disagreements that arise is more likely to receive custody. Taking this one step further, a parent who does not stand in the way of the other parent’s attempts to win custody is viewed in the most favorable light.

Divorcing spouses are not expected to be legal experts, so they should not hesitate to get child custody help from a family law attorney. Ty Zdravko practices law as a divorce attorney, and family law attorney in Palm Harbor, Clearwater and the surrounding area.

For more information, visit our website at www.divorceboardcertified.com
or call (727) 787-5919.

So you are getting a divorce and you are wondering whether to keep the house for the kids sake. That is certainly desirable for the kids. Divorce is traumatic enough as it is. If you stay in the house, the kids can maintain their relationships with their friends, and keep going to the same school. But we can’t always have everything we want. The house may have been purchased with there were two incomes to contribute to the mortgage payment. Now you may only have one. There is always the issue that the house may not fit the new lifestyle. Mon may not be able to keep up the house without help.

In order to retain the home, one spouse may need to purchase the other spouse’s equity in the property. This may involve a cash payment or giving up other assets that are owned jointly. It may be possible to refinance the home mortgage for an amount that exceeds the mortgage balance and use the proceeds to pay the other spouse for his or her equity in the home.

Keeping the home may seem to provide stability during an otherwise chaotic time. An ex-spouse may opt to keep the house for a short time after divorcing and then make a long-term decision after settling into the new lifestyle. Others decide that selling the home is the best choice because it harbors unhappy memories shared by the children. It is sometimes best to make a clean break and start fresh.

Consult with a Family Law Attorney First

Selling the home may seem like it would put the divorced couple in better financial standing, with some cash to use for a down payment on an individual residence. This is not always the case. A divorcing couples should consult with their family law attorney and real estate agent to determine how much they can sell their home for and what selling costs are involved, then subtract the mortgage balance from this figure.

Ty Zdravko practices law as a divorce attorney, and family law attorney in Palm Harbor, Clearwater and the surrounding area.

For more information, visit our website at www.divorceboardcertified.com
or call (727) 787-5919.

Divorce is one of the most stressful experiences that you will ever have. You will probably experience emotions that you never had before, with an intensity you probably never had before. You may want to consider going to a therapist to help you work through the challenge.

Support To Help You Cope With Stress
The stress of your divorce can affect various aspects of your life that you might not have considered. Talking to a therapist about your negative feelings allows you to have an in-depth conversation to find possible solutions to your dilemmas. Some therapists also teach their clients stress reduction techniques and different strategies, such as mindfulness meditation, to help keep them focused. Therapy can also help you cope with feelings of anger, frustration, sadness, or loss so that you can identify where your marriage went off track, as well as which issues to be aware of when you form new relationships in the future.

Therapists Provide Honest Feedback
In addition to listening and helping you cope with your issues, therapists also provide neutral feedback that you likely won’t get from close friends and family who are worried about hurting your feelings. While your friend might mean well, often, they will resort to just telling you to want to hear because they think that will help you get through this difficult time. Therapists facilitate conversations that urge their clients to explore situations from multiple perspectives. This can help you become more flexible when it comes to making decisions regarding your divorce and also with accepting the role you played in the ending of the marriage.

Therapists Help Families Cope With Changes
When children are involved in the divorce, family therapy is an option that provides a safe place for parents and their children to discuss and process the changes that are occurring within the family and each household. Whether your teenager is angry or your youngest child is confused, family therapy can get you started on the path of healing and rebuilding your relationships with each other. For divorced parents, family therapy can also help parents come up with strategies for remaining courteous and respectful towards each other.

Ty Zdravko practices law as a divorce attorney, and family law attorney in Palm Harbor, Clearwater and the surrounding area.

For more information, visit

So you have decided to get a divorce. Most likely, your attention has been all aboutfinancial matters and where you are going to live, and all those kind o things. However, at some point you need to focus on the arrangements that you and your wife are going to make in reference to your children.

How are you going to manage visitation? You have to take into account your working schedules, and how far away you and your spouse are going to live from each other. But you have to decide when each of you are going to have the kids. And you really have to have a workable plan for Christmas and New Years.

How are your going to arrange when and where the kids are dropped off. You want to make arrangements to avoid conflict between the two of you as much as possible. Having your new love interest drop of the kids is probably not a great idea.

Event Planning. Who is going to attend your sons football games and your daughter’s soccer practice. If you can’t agree on these items, you could address them during mediation.

Leaving your kids with other people. If you think that your ex-spouse might want to leave your kids in a situation that you are not comfortable with, you might ask that you be given first chance at taking the kids when those situations arise.

Ty Zdravko practices law as a divorce attorney, and family law attorney in Palm Harbor, Clearwater and the surrounding area.

For more information, visit our website at www.divorceboardcertified.com
or call (727) 787-5919.

These are unusual times. Kids in Pinellas County are going back to school today, and the classroom won’t look anything like it used to. If you are considering a divorce at this time, that process may not be the same either. Here are some things to consider.

Research your options for the divorce: The choice of process depends on the complexity of your situation and how well you and your spouse can communicate during the divorce process. Reviewing this list will help you to understand your options:

• Pro Se — Parties agree to a settlement between themselves and file all paperwork on their own. This is typically recommended only for very simple situations.

•  Mediation — A mutually agreed-upon neutral third party guides the discussions to reach a settlement. This may or may not include each party retaining an attorney to provide guidance throughout the process and review the divorce document.

•  Collaborative process — A collaboratively-trained team consisting of attorneys for each spouse, a financial “neutral”, a counselor, coach or child specialist (as needed) who meet as a team with the spouses to reach a settlement. The attorneys agree not to litigate, even if no settlement can be reached.

•  Traditional attorney-to-attorney — The attorneys work between themselves to structure the settlement for the parties and frequently discourage the spouses from communicating with each other regarding the issues being addressed during the process.

•  Litigation — A judge makes the final decisions on issues that cannot be agreed upon otherwise.

You can begin to determine which process may be best suited for you through online research and through phone or video calls. If you have not received recommendations, you can search for local or statewide mediation organizations to find a divorce mediator or the family law section of your state bar association to obtain a listing of divorce attorneys.

Interview and assemble your team of professionals: In most cases, each spouse should retain an attorney experienced in family law. The attorneys’ involvement can be limited to periodic consultations if mediation is the chosen route and cost is an issue. You want to be sure you are comfortable with your attorney, so spend enough time talking with them to understand if their approach to a divorce is consistent with your ideas. Your team of divorce professionals may also include a financial professional who specializes in divorce, for assistance with the financial decisions, and a counselor or coach to deal with the emotional and behavioral aspects of going through a divorce.

Gather your financial information: Gather information on your income, assets and liabilities, including pay statements, tax returns, bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts, pensions, business interests, real estate, and liabilities (such as mortgages, student loans, car loans, credit card debt, etc.). Again, much of this work can be done online and information can be shared through secure online portals to eliminate in-person contact. It will be helpful to have this information readily available to work with your team on developing potential settlement options. Agreement on a valuation date for your assets and available income may be contentious, especially if you have seen recent significant changes, so be prepared to update information as you go through negotiations.

Create a budget: One of the most important steps is determining a budget to understand how much money you will need to cover essential and discretionary living expenses. Taking time while you are sequestered at home to review recent credit card bills or checking account transactions to understand your current expenses will be time well spent. This information will be important to help you understand how much income you will need post-divorce and often is helpful to determine child support and spousal support amounts, should these will be part of your agreement. Your expenses may have changed during this time. For example, it is likely that you are spending more on groceries and less on gas, restaurants, and childcare. You will need to update your expenses as time goes on as you want your expenses to accurately reflect your lifestyle and needs.

Review your living arrangements: Consider how your living arrangements may change and what options are available within your budget. Real estate transactions are moving forward during this time; you may want to begin researching your options if moving is necessary. Real estate may lose value during this time, so be sure to use current data in your search.

Discuss a parenting plan: It can be difficult even in the most amicable divorce cases to come up with a co-parenting plan that works for the kids and the parents. This pandemic requires parents to carefully consider and plan for travel and living arrangements for their children, if they are living separately. Start discussing parenting plans during this time and remember that logistics such as travel between households and sharing home schooling duties also need to be considered. Some jurisdictions require parenting classes or a mediation session to discuss co-parenting. The availability and format of these sessions may be limited for the foreseeable future.

Ty Zdravko practices law as a divorce attorney, and family law attorney in Palm Harbor, Clearwater and the surrounding area.

For more information, visit our website at www.divorceboardcertified.com
or call (727) 787-5919.

Spousal support is financial assistance that recognizes a partner’s contribution to the marriage and helps the recipient achieve financial independence. Alimony is available only to those who were legally married; and, rules vary by state.

The spousal support that you receive following your divorce is important to your security. This is why you need to understand what can happen if you start living with someone.

Spousal support terminates when you remarry – which you may already expect. However, the law also allows for support payments to cease when you “cohabit” with someone else romantically “in a permanent place of abode on a continuing basis.” Exactly what that phrase means is somewhat open to interpretation. Therefore, you need to be cautious about your relationships until you are certain that you’re prepared for your support payments to cease.

What sort of things can be used to show the court that you’ve taken up residence with a new romantic partner (or one has taken up residence with you)? How can the court tell the difference between, for example, a roommate who is just splitting the bills and a romantic partner? What’s the difference between taking a romantic “staycation” at home with someone and “continuous” cohabiting?

Often it’s a judgment call that gets left up to the court. However, be prepared for just about anything to be used against you that could potentially indicate you are in a relationship with someone else and that you are living together, such as:

Utility bills, vehicle registrations and mail that is addressed to you and your new partner at the same location
Joint bank accounts, a joint lease and similar financial ties between you and your alleged romantic partner
Photos or videos of you and your romantic partner in an embrace or video of your romantic partner coming home at night and leaving again in the morning
Protecting your spousal support rights can be important. If it is, make sure that you have a clear understanding of your legal options before you get involved with someone new.

Ty Zdravko practices law as a divorce attorney, and family law attorney in Palm Harbor, Clearwater and the surrounding area.

For more information, visit our website at www.divorceboardcertified.com
or call (727) 787-5919.

Divorce is a process that has touched all of us in one way or another. With 50% of marriages ending in divorce, you probably have someone close to you that has gone through one, if you haven’t had one yourself. There are a lot of assumptions that people make about divorce that may not be accurate.

ONLY WOMEN GET SPOUSAL SUPPORT.
While this may have been somewhat true in the past because of traditional family roles, times are changing. Women have made their mark on the workforce. More and more men are stay-at-home dads. Spousal support is meant to provide support in the instance of a serious income imbalance when one spouse provides non-monetary support to the relationship instead of acting as a breadwinner.

Of course, spousal support itself is occurring less and less often, but if it is awarded, there’s no guarantee that only the former wife will receive it.

THE MOTHER ALWAYS GETS CUSTODY.
Similar to trends in spousal support, the idea that the mother of the child or children always gets primary custody is outdated. Fathers no longer have a steeper hill to climb in court than mothers, and both sides begin on similar ground.

EACH SIDE GETS HALF.
This one cuts both ways, so to speak. Courts are concerned with equitable division of assets, not necessarily equal division of everything. The distribution must be fair, not even, and the process takes into account the financial standing of each spouse. That means that some parties with higher means may walk away with more debt.

There are two types of property – marital assets and non-marital assets. Marital assets are generally assets acquired during the marriage, with some exceptions. Non-marital assets are those acquired before the marriage or through inheritance or gift. Generally, only marital assets are divided between spouses, while non-marital assets stay with the particular owner. At the same time, this doesn’t mean that the spouse who earned the balance of a retirement account gets to keep the full amount – this kind of asset is likely to be divided in some equitable way.

NON-PAYMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT LIMITS VISITATION.
This is a common misconception, and it causes a multitude of problems. Child support is a completely separate issue from visitation. If a noncustodial spouse does not pay child support, the custodial spouse cannot withhold visitation. The reverse is also true: if a spouse withholds visitation, that doesn’t authorize the noncustodial spouse to withhold child support. Although they both concern the children of the marriage, they are two separate issues with different rules and standards, and one has no bearing on the other. The appropriate sanction for failure to supply either visitation or child support is up to a court.

Ty Zdravko practices law as a divorce attorney, and family law attorney in Palm Harbor, Clearwater and the surrounding area.

For more information, visit our website at www.divorceboardcertified.com
or call (727) 787-5919.