August 18, 2010USA Today highlights the problems displaced workers are encountering when their COBRA subsidy ends or they do not qualify.
Note: At the time of a divorce, an employee’s former spouse is eligible for COBRA coverage for 36 months, but someone needs to pay the full premium plus the 2% administrative fee. In contrast, [...]
Posted in Divorce Grand Rapids, Families/Children, Finances/Tax 
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August 2, 2010The New York Times highlights the “Un-Divorced” who choose to stay separated.
Pamela Paul writes (excerpt):
“Many people I’ve worked with over time enjoy the benefits of being married: the financial perks, the tax breaks, the health care coverage,” said Toni Coleman, a couples therapist in McLean, Va. “They maintain a friendship, they co-parent their kids, they [...]
Posted in Families/Children, Finances/Tax, Relationships No Comments »
February 28, 2010Pine Rest is presenting workshops and classes of interests to parents:
Starting March 4–Parenting With Love & Logic (March 4 – April 29): Pine Rest’s Holland Clinic presents an 8-week class for parents of children ages 6-12. Call 616/820-3780 for more information or to register.
Starting March 9–Together We Can: Support Our Kids During Divorce: Pine [...]
Posted in Finances/Tax, Relationships, Something Different 1 Comment »
February 18, 2009CNN and Parenting.com make cents–rather, sense–of fighting over money and how couples can improve their marriage by resolving money issues.
Michele Bender writes (excerpt):
1. Remember that your relationship is about more than the bottom line . . . .
2. Share your history . . . .
3. Give a little credit . . . .
4. Forget budgets; [...]
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September 11, 2008The New York Times your smartest financial decision is marrying someone who shares your attitudes about money.
Tara Siegel Bernard writes (excerpt):
“A lot of the debates people have about money are code for how we want to live our lives,” said Betsey Stevenson, assistant professor of business and public policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton [...]
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August 16, 2008The Grand Rapids Press explains why custodial parents in Michigan will be paying the federal government $25 per year from the child support they receive.
Kyla King writes (excerpt):
“The Michigan legislators determined that it would be handled in this way,” she said.
The fee potentially affects about 240,000 cases of the state’s 700,000 cases, Stephen said.
About $16 [...]
Posted in Finances/Tax, Law: Cases/Statutes No Comments »
August 13, 2008COBRA [Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985] provides the right for certain employees and their dependents to purchase continuation health care insurance coverage through their employers. The act applies to employers with 20 or more employees, including certain federal employees and State and local governments. See ERISA, 29 USC §§ 1161-1168; IRC § [...]
Posted in Finances/Tax, Law: Cases/Statutes No Comments »
August 13, 2008The New York Times presents the flip side of a problem we deal with in divorce on a regular basis: health insurance. [See my related post on COBRA.] Kevin Sack writes about people who “rush to marry” in order to secure health care coverage for their new spouse (excerpt):
In a country where insurance [...]
Posted in Families/Children, Finances/Tax No Comments »
August 10, 2008The Social Security Administration’s new retirement estimator taps into your actual earnings history to provide more accurate estimates of benefits. It also allows for alternative future income scenarios.
The estimator explains (excerpt):
How the Retirement Estimator Works
The Retirement Estimator produces estimates that are based on your actual Social Security earnings record. Retirement estimates are just that, [...]
Posted in Finances/Tax 3 Comments »
February 14, 2008The Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act (February 13, 2008) is the federal “rebate” program highlighted in the media recently.
Who will receive rebate checks?
1. Americans who paid income taxes in 2007 will receive at least $300 for an individual, with married couples receiving at least $600, plus an additional $300 per [...]
Posted in Finances/Tax 6 Comments »
January 11, 2008US News & World Report helps potential retirees figure out their Social Security benefits with Emily Brandon’s article “Marriage and Social Security Benefits.” The article provides a good overview of the interplay between retirement benefits, spouse’s option to elect earnings records, survivor benefits, and different scenarios that demonstrate the best strategy to maximize benefits.
Some [...]
Posted in Finances/Tax 2 Comments »
August 14, 2005The New York Times examines divorce and the corporate wife.
Geraldine Fabrikant writes (excerpt):
“Corporate spouses are less likely to be quiet and accepting of what is going on,” Mr. Nissenbaum said. “They are less willing to spend the next 30 years helping their corporate mates climb the ladder even though there might be a far larger [...]
Posted in Finances/Tax 1 Comment »
November 11, 2004New tax laws challenge the conventional wisdom about where to invest retirement savings.
When it comes to Uncle Sam’s cut of your nest egg, you can pay now or later. Even recent tax legislation hasn’t altered that. What have changed are the tradeoffs of holding particular kinds of assets in tax-deferred and taxable accounts.
It [...]
Posted in Finances/Tax 1 Comment »
July 14, 2004credit advice for spouses aniticipating divorce
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June 15, 200410% penalty on early distributions from qualified retirement plans
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June 8, 2004remains deductible from the payer’s gross income and taxable to the recipient’s gross income in the year it is actually paid
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June 3, 2004Women are living longer and enjoying more active senior years than ever before. However, just as this door to unprecedented liesure time is opening up, the traditional means of funding retirement – social security and pension plans – are becoming less able to meet retiree’s needs. Women still have what it takes to do what is necessary.
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May 27, 2004If you’re a woman, chances are you face a tug-of-war of sorts when planning for retirement.
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May 26, 2004IRS may recharacterize the payment as child support
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May 24, 2004Roughly 90% of all women will end up managing their finances alone at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, the first time that many women become involved with some financial matters is during a crises, such as a spouse’s death or divorce. We’ve prepared a list of thought-provoking questions.
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