IRS More Aggressive in Divorce Support Agreements Reviews

Bay Area Family Law attorneys should advise all clients that the IRS is getting more aggressive in reviewing support agreements—and this could have tax implications.

In a recent case, a couple divorced over a decade received an IRS notice regarding their support payments and an assertion that part of the support was actually child support over all those years. The implication was that the person paying the support would have to claim income from payments that the IRS deemed should have been child support.  

Speak to a family lawyer if there are complicated tax and divorce planning aspects for your case. You can contact me at Amanda@gordonfamilylaw.com for more information.

What happens if one spouse dies during a divorce?

If one spouse dies during your divorce proceedings, than the entire matter ends and goes to Probate.  The law states that where a party dies before the marriage is dissolved, the dissolution action abates. [In re Marriage of Campbell, 136 Cal. App. 4th 502, 38 Cal. Rptr. 3d 908 (6th Dist. 2006).

You can contact me at Amanda@gordonfamilylaw.com for more information.

What date is used to value my assets?

The Court is obligated to value assets as of the date of trial.  Family Code 2552. However, if there is good cause, the parties can request that the Court value the assets at a date following separation but prior to the trial.  Family Code 2250(b).

A good example of when this is appropriate is if you have small business or if there has been a significant period of time between the date of separation and the date of trial.

If you are concerned about the valuation of your assets, you should consider working with a family law attorney to determine what is the best valuation date. Contact me at amanda@gordonfamilylaw.com for more information. 

What is a motion for reconsideration?

If you are unhappy with the Court’s order, you may consider asking the Judge to reconsider. 

Be careful because a motion for reconsideration is only available if you think there were new or different facts that occurred between filing your motion and the Judge’s order.  You can request the Court reconsider the order on it’s own motion.  A motion to reconsider must be brought within 10 days after service of written notice of entry of the order. The Court can at any time reconsider on it’s own motion. Le Francois v. Goel 5 C4th at 1107.  

You can contact me at Amanda@gordonfamilylaw.com for more information.

Request for Order or FL 300

If you have been served with a Request for Order or FL 300 by an attorney, you may be wondering what to do next.

A Request for Order or FL 300 is a request for a court hearing asking the Judge to make certain orders on your case. This could be an order for temporary custody/visitation, child support, spousal support, or attorney’s fees. The Court will typically set a hearing for more than 3 weeks from the date the RFO is filed.

You are required to show up on the hearing date listed on the first page of the RFO.

If you disagree with the requests made in the papers given to you, you should file a Response to the RFO or FL -320.  If the motion was not properly served, you can also consider a motion to quash.

The responding party may use FL 320 to seek affirmative relief different from that requested by the moving party on the same issues raised by the moving party.  Family Code 213.  Be careful because a Responsive Declaration cannot be used to request affirmative relief on issues not raised by the moving party.  For example, if the RFO requests child custody, the Responsive declaration cannot request spousal support.

All responsive papers must be served and filed no later than nine court days before the hearing.  Keep in mind that while frustrating, late responsive papers are often still read by the Court and you the Court will look at any documents presented to it before your hearing.

If you have been served with a Request for Order or FL 300 by an attorney and have questions, contact Gordon Family Law for help.   You can contact me at Amanda@gordonfamilylaw.com for more information.