“We will reserve our comments for the court.”  – Lois Finkelstein in “NBA Star Bosh Bashed in Suit for Child Support” by Caryn Tamber of The Daily Record, March 26, 2009.

Nelson Garcia will be on “News Nine” with Andrea Roane (WUSA 9 TV) to discuss the effect of taxes and the economy on divorce, at 9:00 a.m. Friday, March 27, 2009.

James J. Gross was interviewed by KMOX Radio on “Divorce in a Recession”, March 2, 2009.

Although President Obama promises taxes will be lower for 95% of taxpayers, a question I get from time to time is, “Can I save taxes by getting a divorce and just living together?”

Many two-income family taxpayers pay more taxes as a married couple than they would by filing separate tax returns as single individuals.  That’s called the marriage penalty.

The answer is you might save a little bit on taxes, but how much will a divorce cost you, both in terms of dollars and the good will of your spouse?

First, Congress has eliminated the marriage penalty for married couples making less than $132,000 and roughly equal incomes.

If a married couple earns $150,000, with equal incomes and a standard deduction, the marriage penalty is $500.

If they earn $200,000 under the same circumstances, they will pay a marriage penalty of about $787.

And there are other financial benefits to staying married, including inheritance taxes, insurance and Social Security, that you would lose if you got a divorce.  Finally, if you divorce in one year and remarry in the next, the IRS may disregard the divorce and require you to file as married anyway.

Source:  Post by Sue Shellenbarger

Joe the Plumber stopped by to see me about his divorce today. “I worked all these years using my own blood, sweat and tears to build up my business. She wants part of it. And Barack Obama wants some of it.”

“Come on, Joe, it’s not that bad. Let’s look at it more carefully,” I say. “Obama’s tax plan provides a $3,000 tax credit for every new job you create, a reduction in taxes if you make less than $250,000 a year, and no capital gains if you sell your business.”

“It doesn’t sound so bad when you put it that way. But what about my wife? She never worked a day during our marriage,” says Joe.

“Your wife gave up her own career to raise your kids and make a home for you so that you were able to work so hard to build up your business. The law provides that the judge has to consider, among other factors, the contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party.”

“So what you’re telling me,” says Joe, “is that I have two silent partners in my business – my lazy Uncle Sam and my wife.”

“That’s one way of looking at it, Joe,” I tell him. “Where are you going?”

As Joe leaves my office, he turns and says, “I’m going to see if my wife wants to buy my plumbing business.”