As this is written, the House and Senate this week are scheduled to vote upon a conference report of both houses of Congress which will “reform” tax law in a major way for the first time since the Reagan administration. In order to secure passage, Congress needed to find some revenue enhancements to offset the
The Do It Yourself Syndrome
There was a time not so long ago when clients would unload their domestic troubles on lawyers like a cord of rotted wood. They might take care in shopping for the right fit in terms of who would represent them. But once the selection was made, the answer was “Let the lawyer do it.” That’s
WHOSE KID ARE YOU ANYWAY; DEDUCTIONS/HEADS OF HOUSEHOLD/DAY CARE & CHILD CREDITS
Yes, it is tax time once again and the struggles over who got Christmas morning in December now give way to “who gets the deductions and credits” associated with the minor child. Here is the primer which is offered subject to the advice of income tax preparers.
In ancient times, which is to say, before
THE FORGOTTEN TAX DEDUCTIONS
The general rule is that personal expenses are almost never deductible by taxpayers on Schedule “A” (Itemized Deductions) of their personal returns. But all rules have exceptions and almost everyone is familiar with the deductions available for medical and dental expenses. These are great deductions but with this hitch. You only get to deduct the
HAGUE CONVENTION ON SUPPORT ORDERS MOVES CLOSER TO RATIFICATION
Seven years after becoming a signatory state to the Hague Convention on International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance, Congress passed and the President signed into law implementing legislation which will gives the treaty the procedural rules to operate. The purpose of the treaty is to provide a relatively uniform
ADVICE TO PSYCHOLOGISTS: TAKE TWO ASPIRIN AND CALL THE LAWYER IN THE MORNING
Part 2 of 2
4. “The complaint is full of lies about me.”
Of course it is. But by operation of law every allegation in the complaint itself is deemed denied until proven. So if your wife alleges that you make more money than she does and you should have to pay for her attorney,
NEVER DOUBT ALAN THICKE: FRESH START TAX PROGRAM IS REAL
- (Image: www.aaahighroads.com)
- I am sorry I doubted you, Alan Thicke
Like many people, I have a healthy skepticism for infomercials or to-good-to-be-true schemes, so when I kept hearing Alan Thicke – famous for the 1980’s show “Growing Pains,” marrying a Miss World, and the real life dad to pop star Robin Thicke – pitch a
DON’T HESITATE…ARBITRATE
One of the difficult aspects of taking a complex case to trial is not the subject matter, necessarily, but the Court’s ability to schedule several consecutive days of trial. Due to case volume, the court administrators can rarely carve out two or more consecutive days of trial without significant advance notice and, often, direct instruction
Leslie Spoltore’s Alimony and the First Amendment
Leslie Spoltore, a partner in our Wilmington, Delaware office, just posted a blog entry on an unusual alimony argument made on appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court. The family court evaluated the ex-wife’s expenses when calculating alimony she would pay to her ex-husband and reduced the significant contributions she made to her church down
Cheating… will it cost you financially?
Pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. Section 3701, the Court may award alimony, “as it deems reasonable,” if it finds that alimony is necessary. The Court looks at 17 factors to assist it in making the determination if alimony is necessary; and, if so, the nature, amount, duration, and manner of the payment of alimony. The factors are: