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There are a number of tax breaks for parents, which we have covered in an earlier blog post.  This blog post zeroes in on the strategy of alternating who claims the child as an exemption.  Before the 2017 tax changes, claiming a child as an exemption meant (1) an extra personal exemption and (2) a Child […]

Calculating Business Income for Child and Spousal Support  Entrepreneurship in the United States is booming. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there are over 33 million small businesses in America. In 2023 a record breaking 5.5 million new business applications were filed.   What does this mean for divorce professionals? Closely held and small businesses […]

Every year, the IRS adjusts various thresholds and tax brackets for inflation. Family Law Software is fully updated and ready for the new tax year: Every year, the IRS adjusts various thresholds and tax brackets for inflation. Family Law Software is ready for the new tax year.   All new case files will automatically use 2024 […]

With tax season around the corner, individuals who are going through divorce will have important decisions to make regarding their 2023 tax filing status.   These include:  What filing status can I claim?  What filing status should I claim?  In particular, individuals who are nearing the completion of their divorce may want to consider the tax […]

One of the most important questions on the minds of homeowners who are going through divorce  is, “Can I afford to keep the home after the divorce?”   More precisely, the party who plans to remain in the home is asking, “Can I afford to maintain the property on my own, given my expenses and […]

The value of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) can be easily overlooked by practitioners and clients in a divorce.  This could be a costly mistake, as HSAs can be assets with significant value, and the contributions will affect cash flow.  This post explains what a Health Savings Account is. Then it discusses both the expenditure and […]

In almost every divorce case there will be assets or debts that must be divided between the parties.    This post discusses the issues associated with property division and how Family Law Software can help.  Marital versus Separate Property  Only marital property is divided in the divorce in most states, and in most situations. This sounds […]

Alimony Reform Enacted in Florida  Florida has just joined the cadre of states that provide a mathematical calculation for alimony. The other states that have a mathematical calculation for alimony include California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania.  The phenomenon of state legislatures adding alimony calculations is a slow-moving trend, but nonetheless one to […]

Family law cases can be legally and financially complex, especially when it comes to child support. Each state has a different formula. Some of the formulas are quite complex. And getting it right is crucial.   A miscalculation could jeopardize the financial well-being of a child and could easily result in the loss of thousands […]

Every family law case requires the parties to create financial disclosure statements (sometimes called financial affidavits).  These documents are sworn statements that disclose the parties’ income, expenses, assets, and debts.   In most states, these statements must be filed with the court.   Every state provides either general guidance or a specific format that must be followed […]

There are two main kinds of retirement plans: defined contribution plans (401(k) for example) and defined benefit plans.  This article is about defined benefit plans, and how to value them.  There is typically no question about how to value a defined contribution plan: you just look at the account balance.  Valuing a defined benefit plan […]

 It is tax season once again, and, as always, there are many questions surrounding the tax aspects relating to children.   The tax aspects that relate to children include:  The claim of exemption.  The child tax credit.  The child care credit.  The earned income credit.  The head of household filing status.  This blog post gives […]

It is a common misconception that it is easy to calculate alimony in a divorce case. After all, child support is calculated by a formula. Doesn’t alimony? Actually, not, except for a handful of states that do have a formula. (The states that have formulas include California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania.) And even those states that […]

 by Nancy Chausow Shafer  Every four years the Illinois Child Support Advisory Committee reviews the state’s child support guideline calculations. This is done to ensure child support calculations are fair and address the needs of children and families. The committee has made several significant changes to the Illinois child support calculation to support families. Family […]

Child and spousal support payments are common legal obligations that courts order daily throughout the entire country. But what happens when those payments are late or never arrive?  Generally, the term “arrears” is used to describe child or spousal support payments that have not been paid when due. Arrears, however, is a term of art which includes the principal amount due as well as accrued interest. […]

Today we are releasing a revamped New Jersey Income screen that will make it a lot easier to enter income for the Case Information Statement (“CIS”). We ask for the same information as before, just in a different format that is easier to follow and easier to understand. Part C – Income Information – of […]

The Supreme Court of New Jersey updated the amounts used in the state’s child support guidelines, effective June 1, 2022. Our most recent update incorporated the very latest guideline rules into Family Law Software. Here are the key changes. Self-Support Reserve The self-support reserve increased from $372 to $392 per week. (The self-support reserve is […]

We were recently asked whether we could add an option to “spend all net income.” The financial advisor said that their client is just going to spend whatever is available and wanted the cash flow projections to reflect this. We have considered an option to “spend all excess funds.” But we have not done it, […]

Family Law Software automatically calculates child support step-downs. You can see this on the Enter Data screen for Child Support, in the section near the bottom of the screen entitled “Support to Use in ….” The step-down shows what will child support be when the oldest child ages out, then the next-oldest, and so on. […]

Did you know that, with Family Law Software, you can value annuities? You can, and here’s how! Create a defined benefit pension asset. Specify the owner, and click “more info.” Enter the information asked for by the “more info” screen, entering the information about birth dates, payment amount, etc. Enter the annuity’s payment start date […]

The American Rescue Plan provided for significantly increased Child Tax Credits. The credits for 2021 are up to $3,600 per qualifying child, as opposed to $2,000 before (and after). (In 2021, a qualifying child is typically a child under age 18 at the end of 2021 for whom the party claims the tax exemption.) The […]

A situation has arisen where parties are using proceeds of a refinancing to pay off a separate debt. The question is how to handle this in Family Law Software. There is no way to directly specify that a refinancing will pay off a party’s separate debt. You would be using marital debt to pay off […]

Here’s an example to show how how easy it is to divide incomes 50/50 on an after-tax basis using Family Law Software, and how important it is to look at incomes after tax. Let’s take the hypothetical example of John and Sue. John and Sue have one child. They share parenting time equally and they […]

As you may know, the IRS is making advance payments on account of the Child Tax Credit, starting July 15, and continuing monthly throughout the remainder of 2021. What you may not know is that the IRS is actually willing to send these payments even to people who never filed a tax return! The IRS […]

Get ready to answer your phone … possibly, a lot! Starting July 15, millions of families will start receiving monthly child tax credit payments. Your clients could be among them, and they’ll definitely have questions. As part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan of 2021, signed into law in March, roughly 39 million families […]

On May 27, Dan Caine, the President of Family Law Software, presented a Webinar on the American Rescue Plan — Provisions and Strategies. We have now posted that Webinar on YouTube, and you may view it here: If you wish to view the slides, you may do so here. During the Webinar, people typed questions […]

It is an important but little-known fact that in the event of exactly equal parenting, the tax law provides that the higher-income parent will be considered as custodial. This seems innocuous, but in fact, this determination could have a number of unpleasant consequences. First, the lower income parent would be denied the ability to claim […]

CHILD SUPPORT The Connecticut child support guideline formula is based on the monthly net incomes of both parents.   To determine the net income of the parties, all taxable sources of income are reduced by the applicable federal, state and local income taxes, based upon all allowable exemptions, deductions and credits.   Family Law Software […]

The New York law provides maintenance and child support guideline formulas. MAINTENANCE In New York, maintenance (also known as alimony in other states) is based on a number of financial factors in the case. In order to assist in the determination of the appropriate amount, the statute has a formula based on the gross income […]

Colorado law provides formulas to help determine the appropriate amounts of maintenance and/or child support. MAINTENANCE In Colorado, maintenance (also known as alimony in other states) is based on a number of financial factors in the case. In order to assist in the determination of the appropriate amount, the statute has a formula based on […]

The American rescue act affected three credits in dramatic way, especially for lower income households. Click here for our blog post about these credits. These credits dramatically increase after-tax income, especially for lower-income households, but they are effective only for the year 2021. How does this affect child support? The impact on child support occurs […]

For divorced parents or parents who are separated or living apart, the term “Dependent” means that a child is the parent’s “qualified child”.  The IRS uses the term “custodial parent” for the parent with the qualified dependent child. This term should not be confused with the designation of “custody” in the state court order.    […]

As you may know, Congress passed a stimulus bill in March, 2021, officially called the American Rescue Plan. The bill has many provisions, but three tax provisions in particular will affect the calculations in Family Law Software, especially for the 2021 tax year, with significant impact on cash flow, taxes, and child support. This will […]

People ask which year’s numbers they should use for guidelines and budgets: last year’s? This year’s? Next year’s? The year you use depends on the purpose for which you are using the results. Guidelines. For child and spousal support guidelines, people tend to use current year numbers. However, since the guideline payment amount tends to […]

In marriage dissolution cases, the alimony and child support you calculate depend on the parties’ net incomes. “Net income” Seems like a simple concept. But sometimes it is not so simple to figure out the amount of money that is actually available to spend. Often during divorce, the client who will be required to pay […]

Many state child support statutes are fuzzy when parents have exactly equal parenting arrangements. Let’s consider Colorado, for one example. In Colorado, the question is whether we should calculate exactly equal parenting as “shared” or as “split” custody. Under the statute, “shared” physical care means that each parent keeps the children overnight for more than […]

As the global pandemic began to impact the U.S. economy, Congress passed sweeping legislation in an attempt to deal with the anticipated fallout. First, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Shortly thereafter Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Between the two acts there are provisions that […]

Let’s look at the hypothetical case of a state trooper who has been working 10 years. His accrued pension benefit is $2,500 a month. If he works another 10 years, his accrued pension benefit will be $4,500 a month. He is 52 years old and seems likely to work until regular retirement at age 62. […]

In some states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, current alimony is a factor in calculating child support. What if the party is paying the negotiated monthly alimony in a lump sum instead of monthly? How should child support reflect that fact? One approach would be to calculate […]

A client receives income from a private disability policy that is not subject to income tax. Where do we enter this amount and show it is not taxable? Go to Client Info > Income & Expenses > Wage-Like Income. Scroll down to the line for disability income Check the box next to the entry for […]

If judge says, “Impute $25,000 of income,” how should I treat that income for tax purposes — as pre-tax or after-tax? Ultimately, it comes down to the imputation of income – was it intended to be gross or net? While it is true the party with imputed income will not be paying taxes on that […]

We have a new system for working with client online files. It allows you to view and edit the same file the client is currently working in. Start by going to the screen where you opening create files, and click the link labeled “Register Client.” Once the client has created their file, what you do […]

We have updated the generational adjustment table of the RP-2014 table to use the Mortality Improvement Scale 2018. Our observation is that pension values calculated using the RP-2014 table are now slightly lower than before. Presumably, this reflects the widely-documented decline in life expectancy in recent years.

The Negotiate tab now has a different organization and fewer entries, thus making the most important ones easier to find. Take a look at the new menu, shown below. It is now organized by task — What If, Spousal Maintenance, Property Division, Arrears — rather than by source of income. It should now be faster […]

We have made the following updates for the Coronavirus response legislation known as the CARES Act. Rebate. We automatically calculate and apply the rebate that is coming to most Americans (typically $1,200 + $500 per child). You can see the calculated amount in the Wage-Like Income section. Child support. In today’s release, the CARES Act […]

As you know, a 50/50 division of assets may NOT be fair, because the after-tax picture can be very different. Family Law Software includes the very valuable feature of enabling you to help the parties reach an agreement on dividing their assets on an after-tax basis.

If you have a question on a file, you can easily send the file to tech support. Just click Files & Settings > Help/Support > Send Us Your File. Below are several other valuable tips on how you can get the best possible technical support. Please forward this to everyone in your office who uses […]

How often does it happen that your client is owed child support and/or maintenance and you need to find the full amount, including interest? Family Law Software can answer that question. Here’s how: Click Negotiate > Support Arrears. Please forward this e-mail to everyone in your office who uses Family Law Software. Below are details […]