Tampa Family Law Law Blog

Families coping with the end of a marriage have many issues to face. Not the least of these are parenting time when kids are involved, and the division of finances. In Florida, a child custody order may call for a very specific co-parenting arrangement. In order to abide by the order, a person going through the divorce may want to track one's own time with the children, as well as that of the other parent. Some individuals are turning to smartphone technology to help manage this type of tracking. 

A divorced father has developed an app that he says will be an aid to families coping with divorce. His app, called FAYR, can help an individual track expenses, events, daily schedules and location, whether the other co-parent wishes to participate or not. That way, when a co-parenting relevant event occurs, it can be quickly and easily documented in the app. 

A person who has invested heavily in the partnership of a marriage can possibly face a loss upon divestment. Although divorce is an emotional affair, it can also be approached like a business transaction. Rates of later in life, "gray" divorces are rising, and when older individuals divorce, they sometimes face more complicated property division. The longer a pair are intertwined, the murkier are the boundaries of what property belongs to whom. In a recent news article, one expert tries to share helpful information that individuals in Florida may find helpful if they are navigating gray divorce. 

Retirement accounts in particular can be tricky to separate. Certain accounts are taxed upon withdrawal, and the sum on the balance sheet can be quite different than the after-tax amount. These accounts can be rolled over into a separate retirement account without penalty, but a divorcing person can't expect to pull out their "half" in a cashier's check. Brokerage accounts also have fees associated with liquidation.

A person facing the end of a marriage has lots of details to manage. One detail that may not immediately pop up is how the breakup will affect future tax returns. Taxes, like divorce, are another one of those intimidating issues that most people will avoid if at all possible. But anyone in Florida going through a divorce will eventually need to understand how the change will affect how they file their taxes from now on. Child support and child custody can affect how one files, as well as alimony and retirement accounts. 

It would be improper for the government to create a situation where it encourages divorce, so child support payments are neither taxable or tax deductible. One parent or the other can claim the child as their dependent, but both parents cannot. The dependency exemption is usually given to the parent who provides more than half of the child's support through the year, but not always. Forms describing the conditions for the exemption, and forms that must be filled out, can be found with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 

Gone are the days when mom automatically got the kids when a marriage ends. Changing attitudes and recent scientific research both bear out the concept of shared custody. Relationships between child and parent overtake parent-parent relationships after a divorce. In Florida, child custody agreements may soon be taking a turn toward shared custody as the new default as more and more individuals feel that this model is generally in the best interests of a child. 

One significant exception to this policy involves, of course, parental abuse or neglect. In cases such as these, it would obviously not be in the best interests of a child to be with both parents. Other than that, though, the latest research suggests that spending equal time with mom and dad is good for kids. When a child is able to have a relationship with both parents, even if there is some conflict between the parents, a child is better adjusted and can cope better with life's challenges.