Special Circumstances and Economic Concepts Flashcards
Divorce - Prior to 2019
For divorces finalized by December 31, 2018 only, alimony is deductible by payor and taxable to payee if
the following requirements are met:
* The taxpayers cannot file a joint tax return or live together at the time of payment
* Payments must be made in cash (see next area)
* Payments must be received by or for the benefit of the payee spouse (i.e., not treated as child
support)
* The payments cannot extend beyond the death of the recipient spouse by decree or by state law
Alimony test for deductibility—cash payments
Qualifies as alimony (tax deductible)
- Cash payments from the payor spouse to third parties such as payments of the ex-spouse’s rent, mortgage, tax, or tuition liabilities
- Premium payments made by the payor spouse for life insurance owned by the
payee spouse where the payor is the insured
Does not qualify as alimony (not tax deductible)
- Any payments to maintain property owned by the
payor spouse and used by the payee spouse (including mortgage payments, real estate taxes, and insurance premiums)
- Transfers of non-cash items, including services, property or the use of property, or promissory notes
Divorce - After 2019
- alimony will not be deductible by the payor nor includible in the gross income of the payee
Child support
Child support payments are non-taxable to the payee and nondeductible by the payor regardless of whether the divorce settlement occurred before or after the TCJA went into effect. Any amount tied to a contingency or occurrence of an event relating to a child is considered to be child support and not
alimony.
Divorce - Property settlements
The 1984 Tax Act provides that any transfer of property between spouse’s incident to a divorce is gift tax-free. The transferor’s basis in the property is “carried over” to the transferee
Divorce - Tax Privileges
While the dependency exemption (personal exemption) was eliminated under the Tax Cuts and Jobs
Act, certain privileges, such as the ability to deduct a child’s medical expenses is generally awarded to the custodial parent. However, if the parties agree and the instrument stipulates, the non-custodial parent
may claim the expense.
Disability
Other possible
sources of coverage include:
* Social Security disability benefits
* Workers’ compensation (job-related)
* Employer-provided disability insurance
* Medicare or Medicaid benefits
All individuals should review the financial exposures and the benefits available and then plan accordingly.
Terminal illness
Many questions should be asked before the planning can be done. Is the terminal illness treatable? How
long is the client expected to live? Is the client incompetent? Is incompetence anticipated? Consider the following financial matters:
* How much will be provided by insurance (disability or LTC policies)?
* Will the individual qualify for disability or LTC benefits?
* Will the individual qualify for Medicare or Medicaid benefits?
Certain legal documents that should be prepared or reviewed:
* A living will
* A durable power of attorney for health care
* A living trust
Non-traditional families - Single Parent
- Budget for additional childcare
- Prepare for time off from work when children are sick
- Social Security survivor benefits for his/her children and himself/herself
- Income replacement using life insurance and trusts
- Guardianship for the child
Non-traditional families -unmarried domestic partners
- Titling of assets
- Beneficiary designations (insurance, annuities, or retirement plan beneficiary)
- Employer retirement plan beneficiary designations
- No intestacy rights
The best transfer arrangements for the exam for unmarried domestic partners are a revocable trust and tenancy-in-common. Wrong answers for the test are a will (can be contested by family members).
Trusts are private. Other wrong answers are no will (intestacy) or joint tenancy with rights of survivorship. A disgruntled partner can siphon the entire account.
COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) provisions
- Under COBRA, employers providing group or self-funded health coverage are required to offer terminated employees the right to buy continued health coverage.
- Small companies (fewer than 20 employees for at least half of the prior year) are exempt from the federal legislation.
COBRA coverage and periods
- Voluntary or involuntary
termination; change from fulltime to part-time - coverage offered to: Terminated employees and
other dependents
- coverage offered to: Terminated employees and
- period: up to 18 months
- Employee’s death, divorce, legal separation or eligibility for Medicare
- coverage offered to: Spouses and other dependents
- period: up to 36 months
- Loss of dependent status
(marriage, reaching dependency age limit specified by plan) - coverage offered to: Dependents whose status
changed
- coverage offered to: Dependents whose status
- period: up to 36 months
The Affordable Care Act (ACA)
provides guaranteed enrollment with no preexisting conditions
exclusions. Upon separation from service, the former employee may choose COBRA for a specified number of months or purchase an Affordable Care Act policy through an exchange
until reaching Medicare eligibility generally at age 65.
Structured settlements
A structured settlement is a voluntary agreement between the personal injury victim and the defendant
who was deemed to be negligent. Under structured settlements, injury victims do not receive the compensation award for their injuries in one lump sum, instead, they will receive a stream of tax-free
payments perhaps tailored to meet future medical expenses and living needs. A structured settlement may be agreed to privately (for example, in a pretrial settlement), or it may be required by court order
which typically happens in judgments involving minors.
Compensatory damages
- Compensatory damages received because of personal physical injuries or physical sickness are generally
tax-free. However, interest paid on a tax-free damage award is taxable (however, see “Annuity”exception. - Damages received in discrimination (age, sex, or race) or other non-physical injury cases are taxable with one exception: damages up to the amount of actual medical care expenses
attributable to emotional distress like psychiatric care are tax-free.