Settle Maintenance (Alimony) before December 31 of this year:
If you have exposure to paying maintenance, which is the term used in New York for alimony, you can save a lot of money by immediately retaining an attorney to make a legally binding agreement settling the maintenance issue. Such an agreement could be a Separation Agreement.
Time is of the essence, however, because if maintenance is resolved by December 31, 2018, the new Tax reform Act provides that the payor will get a tax deduction for it. If not, the payor will not be able to deduct it.
You will need an Attorney that has the time available to help you make such a settlement by December 31, 2018.
Other ways to save money in a Divorce:
1. Organize your documents.
2. Do not call your lawyer to ask questions every day, unless it is an emergency. Instead, make a list of questions ahead of time, and call your lawyer once per week to ask your questions.
3. Consider retaining a divorce lawyer with a reasonable hourly rate.
4. Consider an out of court settlement first. Litigate only when necessary. Mediation or Collaborative Law are great ways to make an out of court divorce settlement.
5. Be willing to do homework that your lawyer recommends. For instance, when your lawyer explains the Statement of Net Worth form and ask you to complete it, do your best to fill it out promptly. This provides the important financial information needed to resolve your case. If it takes you 5 hours to complete the Statement of Net Worth form, you are saving 5 times your lawyer’s hourly rate, which amounts to thousands of dollars.
6. When it comes to settlement, if in doubt, follow your divorce lawyer’s advice. Chances are he/she has been involved in hundreds, perhaps thousands, or more of divorce cases than you. This experience provides your lawyer with a good sense of what the outcome is likely to be if your case goes to trial.
