Tax implications should be considered in divorce settlements, according to attorney Sonja Davig.
Maintenance payments are taxable as income to the recipient and tax deductible for the giver, which means the recipient needs to receive enough money in the maintenance payment to pay his or her taxes. Child support is neither taxable nor a tax deduction.
Family support, however, a hybrid between maintenance and child support, is taxable to the recipient and a tax deduction for the giver. Family support may be negotiated because it allows the partner with higher income to shift tax payments to the spouse with less income.
With less money paid to the government, there may be more money available for support and maintenance.
In Davig’s experience, family support usually is more common in temporary orders while a divorce is pending than in a final divorce decree.
Information provided by Sonja Davig, a family law attorney at Johns, Flaherty & Collins, SC, in Holmen WI. For a family law attorney, call Sonja at 608-784-5678.