Frumkes on Divorce Taxation

by Melvyn B. Frumkes

Take the Work Out of
Divorce Tax Planning

Whether you are structuring agreements, advising clients, negotiating with adversaries, or presenting to the court, it is important to have a clear understanding of the tax consequences. However, lack of funds or time to hire a tax expert sometimes leaves you wandering alone through this complicated area. Now there’s a roadmap.

Melvyn B. Frumkes, a national expert who teaches the subject to judges, lawyers and accountants, has written a concise lawyer’s guide to divorce taxes. This plain English manual walks you step-by-step through the most commonly arising trouble spots in property distribution, support, and more. This answer book is intelligently organized and indexed, well-supported with citations, and most important, loaded with practical advice. Divorce Taxation will help you sidestep problems in these areas:

• Property aspects of dissolution

• Alimony and separate maintenance payments

• Temporary support payments

• Child support

• The dependency exemption and child tax credit

• Medical expenses for dependents

• Deductibility of attorney’s fees

• The kiddie tax

• Joint returns

• Innocent spouse election and equitable relief

• Retirement benefits, QDROs and IRAs

• Stock options

Complicated rules can slow down your progress as you work your way through the taxation pitfalls and opportunities that abound in divorces. Frumkes on Divorce Taxation quickly guides you through trouble spots and alerts you to potential tax savings in property distribution, support, and more. It offers on-target explanations, examples, specimen clauses, forms, checklists, tables, and other practical planning tools—all designed to reduce the work in divorce tax planning. This problem-solving book is loaded with how-to gems like:

• How to structure make-up alimony payments to side-step income recapture. Section 3.9.2.2

• How to transfer an IRA tax-free. Section 14.8

• How to avoid non-deductible child support treatment. Section 3.8.2

• How to qualify alimony as taxable and deductible. Section 3.5

• How to bypass tax on interest payments. Section 2.4.2

• How to enforce the record requirements of property transfers. Section 2.1.4

• How to shift the dependency exemption and the child tax credit to the non-custodial parent. Section 5.1.5

• How to deduct a portion of the attorney’s fees. Section 7.5

The book includes appendices with proposed orders and forms, clauses to achieve Lester results, and the Temporary Regulations which are still in force.

Updated annually.  ISBN #1-58012-073-3. Book Price: $99.00

B7

Reviews

"Although less than 500 pages, it is a superb tax guide and includes valuable forms.  The book is well organized and indexed.  I was able to look up the most esoteric points of which I could conceive without difficulty."
— S. Mitchell, Arizona

"Mel Frumkes has written a gem."
— D. S. Dolowitz, Utah

"In a word, it is superb.   There is not a week that goes by without going to the book with a question and invariably finding the answer."
— S. W. Schlissel, NY

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