Financial Choices

Domestic Relations

Choosing Your Approach to Resolution

Rochelle Grossman

Alternatives for "going to court"—arbitration, mediation, and early neutral evaluation—can reduce costs, time, and family friction, while preserving the marital estate for the post-divorce phase of life.

Domestic Relations

Important Financial Planning Considerations in Divorce

Marty Babitz

Having the right team in place to help you chart your path through the ever-changing legal, tax, and financial obstacles of divorce is essential for your well-being.

Domestic Relations

Pounding the Pavement: Employment Transitions During Divorce

Meredith Laughridge Cross

The author explains how a party’s earning capacity is calculated in a divorce and gives tips for reentering the workforce, going back to school, navigating a gray divorce after age 50, and planning for retirement.

Family

Health Insurance: Don’t Leave Your Marriage Without It

Tiffany M. Alexander

When going through a divorce, it is vital that you are aware of the health insurance selections available to you based upon your medical needs and your tax bracket.

Domestic Relations

Consider Social Security

Kate Vetrano and Lydia S. Terrill

Although Social Security benefits are not marital property, they are a potential source of child support, spousal support, or alimony and may be additional income that lessens alimony obligations.

Domestic Relations

A Brief Primer on Alimony

Brittany Ranson Stonestreet and Andrea Cozza

Learn about the types of alimony payments, including their duration, amount, and eligibility for modification, their tax implications, and the circumstances that can cause the support to be terminated.

Taxation

Divorce Tax Reform Two Years After Passage: What Hath Congress Wrought?

Mark Ashton

Due to a legislative anomaly from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, family law attorneys and clients must understand the complex tax law to know whether alimony is taxable or deductible.

Domestic Relations

In Tomorrow We Trust

Daniel B. Finch and David E. Holm

The failure to update estate planning documents and make simple updates to beneficiary designations can turn an already stressful divorce into an unmitigated disaster.

Family

Persevering in the Pandemic: Texas Courts

Justice Debra H. Lehrmann

A Texas Supreme Court Justice outlines some of the innovations and solutions Texas courts are using to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Domestic Relations

COVID-19: Key Considerations in Divorce and Related Support Obligations

Gia M. Conti

In the ongoing pandemic, you may find yourself going through significant life changes that ultimately impact your ability to pay spousal or child support. Thus, you may need to consider seeking modification to your existing support obligations.

Family

From the Chair

Jonathan W. Wolfe

This year was not the year that we expected, but I am proud of all that we have accomplished together and look forward to the time we can all be together again.

Family

From the Editor In Chief

Kathleen A. Hogan

This handbook shares an array of proactive steps that clients can take to make the best financial choices for their families in a family law proceeding while mitigating the financial burden.

Family

Financial Planning for a Gestational Surrogacy Process: Possible Ways to Save Money and Risks

Dean Hutchison and Natalie Kanellis

An overview of the different cost categories of a gestational surrogacy and the potential for cost-saving measures.

Family

Barnes & Thornburg’s Michael Boulette Wins FLS 2020 Jean Crowe Pro Bono Award

For Michael Boulette, family extends to the law students he teaches, the legal community he serves, and children and parents in need across Minnesota.