Divorce Season vs. Tax Season
As a family-law attorney, you know all about divorce season. The new inquiries peak in January and February, year after year.
And, by now, you know why. Couples whose marriages are crumbling want to wait until after the holidays. Toward the end of the year, they’re starting their research. After New Year, they’re ready to pull the trigger. Which is when they’d need your help… and mine.
These days, I’m seeing a lot more women filing for divorce. Then again, I’m seeing divorcing women at both ends of the barbell:
- There are the wealthy, financially-savvy business-owning women. Their financial motives, in divorce, are all about self-preservation: “I want to lose as little as possible.”
- At the other end, there are the women who are worried about their financial futures for the opposite reason. They’re motivated by fear: Will they be able to survive? Yet for many of these women, they’re the ones filing anyway—which gives you instant insight into just how sour the relationship had gone.
I’m sure you’re seeing both of these types of clients, too. And while they certainly seem like polar opposites, they each face that inevitable eventuality that we all face: Taxes.
A hidden opportunity
As a CPA, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® professional, I’m certainly attuned to both the financial and tax needs of my divorcing-women clients.
You might not think of tax season as an opportunity for your practice. But with my help, it is.
Consider: In the spring, all the documents associated with tax season are required to be issued. It’s the law. We’re talking about things like W-2s. Statements which report portfolio income earned and mortgage interest paid. Especially for a divorce that’s threatening to drag out over time, this can be a real boon. It can help to get someone moving when they’re dragging their feet: they certainly can’t deny that they got their W-2, when it must be issued by the last day in January.
Speaking of timing, as you know, divorces take a while… sometimes quite a while. And this leads to more tax issues (a specialty of mine) which will confront you and your clients right now, not “post-divorce.” I’m talking about choices such as filing jointly or separately. I’m talking about instances in which one spouse will owe taxes on April 15th, while the other one will be expecting a refund.
How do you tease out the most equitable way of doing this, right now, during separation yet pre-divorce?
Answer: You work with me. Each situation is highly specialized to the parties and their situation. So, I can run the numbers, and different allocation scenarios, because even spouses who are on the outs can agree on their desire to pay the absolute minimum to Uncle Sam.
Divorce season has new clients knocking at your door. Tax season, with my help, moves your case load along.
Contact me and let’s accelerate your workload.
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