Boston Divorce Lawyer – Boston Divorce & Family Law Attorney Blog

Many of my clients are worried about two issues when it comes to transferring property pursuant to a divorce.  They’re worried either about their house (real property) or their retirement accounts.

Transfer of Real Property

During the marriage, spouses can transfer unlimited money and assets between themselves – tax free.  There is no transfer or capital gains tax on transfers between spouses.  After divorce, spouses (or ex-spouses I suppose) have up to 1-year from the divorce date to transfer property between them, tax free – even if the transfer was not mentioned as part of the divorce.

Transfer of Retirement Assets

If you take out money from any of your retirement accounts (401k, IRA, Roth IRA, 403b, pensions, etc.), you will incur a penalty and be taxed on the amount.  So when couples need to split their retirement accounts during or incident to a divorce, many people worry that they will get penalized and taxed.  However, if done property, that won’t be the case.  Any amount that is taken out or divided incident to a divorce, should be done through a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO).  It is a special document that is submitted to the retirement account administrators instructing them to divide the account without triggering any penalties or adverse tax consequences.

Before transferring real estate or retirement assets in a divorce, it’s best to consult with a knowledgeable Massachusetts divorce attorney so that you won’t make the mistake of having to pay Uncle Sam when you don’t need to.

When one parent lives across the country from the other parent, how do you parent from a thousand miles away?  During visits, few and far between, how do you connect with your own child who you grow increasingly distant from and know less and less about?

Of all the family law cases I deal with, those cases dealing with parents separated by distance are the hardest, legally and emotionally.  Mostly the families I see have two great parents.  It might be joint custody or one parent might have sole custody, but regardless, both are great parents.  So it’s all that much heart-wrenching when we have to decide which parent gets the child for the majority of the year and live a plane ride away.  There is no good way to do it.

Legally, there are standards to be met.  The best interest of the child has to be looked at in all cases.  The question has to be asked, “is it in the best interest of the child for him to stay or to go?”  Then depending on whether it’s a sole custody or a joint custody situation, you might also have to ask the question, “why is the parent moving?”  Is there a real advantage to the move?

But these are just legal jargon and standards that don’t fully encapsulate the enormity of the final decision.

These days, because of technology, we routinely set up Skype for parents so that they can hear and see their kids through video chats.  It is definitely a step forward but you still cannot hug your children over the internet.  That’s a shame.

Under Massachusett’s new Alimony Reform, the legislation has provided for 4 different types of alimony: General alimony, Rehabilitative Alimony, Reimbursement Alimony and Transitional Alimony.  The reason for the classification is that the duration of each type of alimony, how the payments are calculated, and the ability to modify it in the future, depends on the specific type of alimony that is used to classify.

General alimony is what we traditionally think of as alimony.  It is ordered when once spouse is financially dependent on the other spouse.

Rehabilitative alimony is alimony given for a short period of time so that the lesser earning spouse can get back on their feet through job training or finding a new job.

Reimbursement alimony is alimony for a short period of time or a lump-sum payment to reimburse a spouse for marriage contribution, such as helping to put a spouse through school and paying for student loans.

Transitional alimony is alimony for a short period of time or a lump-sum payment for the purpose of helping the spouse transition to a new standard of living or to relocated due to the divorce.

Massachusetts Senate and House has passed alimony reform legislation and it is expected to be signed by the Governor next week.  When signed, the new Alimony Reform will be effective March of 2012.  This is long overdue since Massachusetts Alimony is outdated and lags behind the reform of most other states.

In the past, alimony was governed by statute but the statute was very vague.  It gave the court a lot of discretion and not a lot of guidance.  For most attorneys, trying to figure out alimony payments and duration was a nightmare because there was no clear formula, unlike child support calculations.  With the passage of the alimony reform, we will not have a clear directive as to how alimony is calculated and it sets the amount and duration of alimony payments.  There is still some discretion by the court but at least there is more certainty.  Having clear and certain numbers helps not only the court, but attorneys to negotiate a proper and fair settlement for parties in a divorce.

The new alimony law provides for 4 different types of alimony: General Alimony, Rehabilitative Alimony, Reimbursement Alimony and Transitional Alimony.

Duration of General Alimony:

• If marriage is 5 years or less then alimony is no more than 1/2 the length of the marriage
• If marriage is more than 5 years but less than 10 years, then alimony is no more than 60% of the length of the marriage
• If marriage is more than 10 years but less than 15, then alimony is no more than 70% of the length of the marriage
• If marriage is more than 15 years but less than 20, then alimony is no more than 80% of the length of the marriage
• If the marriage is more than 20 years, alimony can be lifetime.