Texas Divorce and Prenuptial Agreement BLOG

In the past, a parent could (and often did) take his or her child across state lines and get a new child custody order granting that parent full child custody. What would follow would often be a lengthy and expensive legal battle over which child custody order was in effect, all while the child in the middle of the dispute bounced between parents and courts. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (“UCCJEA”) changed all this, as the UCCJEA created a standard set of rules that determines which state has initial jurisdiction over a child in a child custody dispute. Home State Has First Priority The state whose courts have original jurisdiction to create a child custody order is often the “home state” of the child, the state where the child has been living. If the child recently left the state (within the past six months), that state will continue to have jurisdiction provided that one of his or her parents continues to live in the state. If the child has been absent from the state for more than six months, that prior home state will not likely have jurisdiction over child custody. What Happens When There is No…
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In the United States, the first place to start for any question regarding interstate child custody is the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (“UCCJEA”). Drafted in 1997, the UCCJEA aimed to standardize child custody laws amongst the 50 states, and it has nearly accomplished this – every state except Massachusetts has passed the UCCJEA. With the UCCJEA, parents are no longer able to move their children between states to have a court in one state give a ruling that differed from another state court’s ruling. Here are several of the important functions of the UCCJEA for parents concerned with interstate child custody issues: The UCCJEA determines which state has original jurisdiction for child custody purposes (often the “home state” of the child”) (in tomorrow’s post we will go into more detail how a family can determine which state has original jurisdiction) Once original jurisdiction is established, the UCCJEA does not permit other states to change that initial state’s order unless there has been a significant change in circumstances (for example, the child and parent no longer have any contact with that original state) Other states’ courts do have the power to issue an emergency order under the UCCJEA…
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When a court awards alimony (also called spousal support or spousal maintenance), this has tax consequences for both spouses. For the spouse receiving the alimony, he or she must report that as income for tax purposes. For the spouse paying the alimony, he or she is able to deduct those payments, but only if the payments meet the following Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) requirements: You cannot file a joint return with your ex-spouse You must pay the alimony in the form of cash, check or money order Your ex-spouse has to receive your payment The divorce decree must not state that your payment should not be considered alimony payment If you and your ex-spouse have already formally separated, you cannot be living in the same household You cannot be making the payment after the death of your ex-spouse Your alimony payment cannot be treated as child support or property settlement (both child support and property settlements are not deductible) In addition to child support and property settlements, other examples of payments that would not qualify as alimony include: Payments that come from community property (this is all assets that a couple acquires during the course of their marriage; these assets…
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Claiming a child as a dependent on your tax return offers a number of tax advantages like deductions and credits, but who gets to claim dependents is not always straightforward for divorced couples with children. Only one parent can claim each child as a dependent on the parent’s tax return. This is easy to sort out when one parent has complete custody over a child and the other has periodic visitation rights. The situation becomes more complicated when the couple splits time with their children. Here are some of the variations that can change how the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) grants dependent exemptions: A divorce decree from before 2008 can specify who gets the dependent exemption. The decree can do this even to give the exemption to the parent who does not have custody. For couples divorcing after 2008, there is an IRS form that permits the custodial parent to give up the exemption. The parent without custody then uses that completed form when filing his or her tax return to use the dependent exemption. If a child spends the same number of nights with both parents over the course of the year, custody (and ordinarily the dependent exemption) goes…
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