If an Arizona resident wants to understand the classification of property pursuant to a divorce, they must first be familiar with the legal concept of "community property." Community property is a theory of property ownership between marital partners that is recognized in Arizona and a handful of other jurisdictions. At its core, the recognition of community property in Arizona means that property that individuals acquire during their marriages is owned "50-50" and will be divided as such when they divorce.
What is an equalization payment?
As Arizona is a community property state, courts in the Phoenix area often split marital property evenly in a divorce or permanent separation. For a variety of reasons, however, it may not be feasible to divide property literally in half between the two spouses. For instance, one spouse may really want to keep the family residence for a number of reasons, as opposed to just selling it. In other cases, one spouse may be involved in a family business and want to remain involved in that business.
Helping those trying to help themselves
For a variety of reasons, many Phoenix, Arizona, residents decide to handle a divorce, paternity case or other family law matter without the help of a lawyer. Particularly during the Great Recession, but even now, sometimes the reason for doing so is financial.
How will stock options be handled in a divorce?
Many people in Phoenix, Arizona, who have full-time positions get to take advantage of several benefits that their employers offer to them. Particularly in executive and other white-collar positions, for instance, an employee may be allowed to acquire stock options. As the name implies, a stock option is the right of a person to buy company stock at some point in the future for a price already agreed upon.
Alimony change could affect more than one's taxes
Since about the early part of 2018, it's been in the news that the federal government has changed the way alimony, also referred to as spousal support, gets treated for federal income tax purposes.
Why is a QDRO so important?
Some might think that family law attorneys in Phoenix, Arizona, who are handling a divorce or separation primarily work to make sure that their clients' interests in property are protected vis a vi the other party in the divorce.
What is considered non-marital property?
As this blog has mentioned before, Arizona is a community property state. In the context of a divorce, this means that, generally speaking, marital property is split 50-50 between the spouses. Incidentally, even couples with no intention of splitting need to be aware of our community property laws.
Thinking clearly about the family residence
When a couple is divorcing and going through a legal separation, they may find that they have a lot of emotions attached to the home they shared while happily married. But, like the couple's other property, the home will be subject to property division.
What is so special about an offshore account?
Many of our readers know that offshore accounts are investment tools, a lot like stocks, bonds, insurance policies and retirement plans. The distinctive feature of an offshore account is, as the name implies, the bank holding the account is in another country and therefore subject to the laws of that other country. This may create legal complications, but it also can give some important legal and financial advantages to a legitimate investor.
Consider taxes when valuing property
Thinking about taxes and how they will affect a divorce or separation is not just an exercise that the wealthiest residents of the Phoenix area should undertake. Indeed, as a previous post pointed out, any separated parents who have children, and, thus, the ability to take child-related tax benefits, need to think about this issue.
