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Post by sparkz on Aug 30, 2019 13:52:46 GMT -5
DryCreek - good advice and good questions: I make more than twice as much as my husband, and I have a substantial amount in my own account that I inherited from my mom, which he is not entitled to. I am scared of having to pay him alimony and/or fork over some of my pension and deferred compensation. I do have my check directly deposited into a joint account, which my husband pays our bills from. I need to make sure I monitor the account closely after I file and make sure he actually makes the payments, as he has been very irresponsible with it. I should have taken over he bills a long time ago, that is my own fault.
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Post by DryCreek on Aug 30, 2019 14:20:14 GMT -5
sparkz, good for you. You might still consider having your check deposited to a personal account that you then use to fund the joint account. It puts you in a better position to take control of ensuring the bills get paid if he starts spending the money elsewhere. Depending on your locale, you might very well end up paying alimony; splitting part of your retirement / deferred comp is even more likely unless his retirement savings is comparable. As you head into that negotiation, be savvy about tax basis (1031 rollovers on investment real-estate; capital gains exemption for personal real estate), tax-deferred retirement (IRA, 401k), and Roth tax-free retirement accounts - the real value of these assets needs to account for their tax liability (or lack thereof).
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Post by lessingham on Aug 31, 2019 3:33:22 GMT -5
Hope this does not sound flippant but I am reminded of the old military dictum, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. As long as you have your plan, you have 100% control of the process. As soon as you initiate it, then you get to deal with the drama and counterstrokes of your partner, which throw your plans off track.
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Post by DryCreek on Aug 31, 2019 12:15:41 GMT -5
lessingham, that’s a good one. Here’s another... “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” - Mike Tyson Plans are good things to have, but things rarely go according to plan. Gotta have contingencies. It’s an interesting pattern here that often once someone has a long-range plan worked out, something happens unexpectedly and the plan is put into motion much sooner than expected. But having that plan thought out makes all the difference.
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