Articles from The Mediator

Couples that agree on spending limits have less conflict about money.

Critical legal documents parents should have in place for college students.

Owners of overfunded 529 college savings accounts can roll some of the funds to a Roth IRA tax free.

IRS has raised contribution limits for most retirement plans for 2023.

Joining finances creates a feeling of greater financial security for couples.

New York and other states have passed laws regarding custody of pets.

Connecticut is changing divorce court procedures to try to move cases faster.

Congress is considering limiting high earners ability to convert monies to Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s.

Financial advisors disagree about involving teens and young adults in family financial decisions.

Remarrying couples must decide whether to combine their finances or keep them separate.

Remote workers may now owe additional tax to the state where they work remotely.

Connecticut now allows divorcing couples to complete their divorces remotely, without going to court.

Emotional Contagion, first published in 1994 has new relevance, given the rise of social media.

Recent tax law changes have expanded the uses for 529 savings accounts.

Millennials divorce at a much lower rate than their Baby Boomer parents, according to a recent study.

Important rules concerning managing family finances during a divorce are about to become a bit more flexible.

An important law regarding the tax-deductibility of alimony payments is about to change at the end of 2018.

More married couples are living apart than ever before, thanks in part to technology which helps them to stay in touch while they are apart.

Regulators are considering enacting more flexible rules for retirement savings accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s.

The IRS Code allows participants in 401(k) and 403(b) plans to get their money out before age 59-1/2 without the 10% penalty if they retire after age 55.

Connecticut has now opened mediation centers in two courthouses, which are available for mediation of family and civil cases from throughout the state.

Connecticut now allows divorcing couples who have an agreement on all terms of their divorce to waive the 90-day waiting period and get divorced sooner.

Emory University researchers surveyed over 3,100 people who were or had been married, and found that spending more on the engagement ring/wedding cor-related with higher divorce rates.

If you are the spouse who made less money in the marriage and then get divorced, Social Security has a potential benefit for you.

A new Connecticut law allows certain couples to get divorced more quickly and without going to court. It’s called “nonadversarial divorce.”

Did you know that you can take money out of an IRA tax free and use it for any purpose, so long as you put it back into an IRA within 60 days?

According to researchers at USC and Duke University, when the going gets tough, it seems women may be better at making decisions than are men.

In a unanimous decision the Connecticut Supreme Court seems to have made it more difficult to get increases in alimony in certain circumstances.

Grandparents have figured out that 529s are a great way to help with their grandchildrens’ college costs. But this may cause problems for students receiving need-based financial aid.

It's no secret that opposites attract. But the at-first attractive ‘opposite’ trait can become a real problem over time.

Can you serve papers via social media? A New York court has recently said ‘sometimes, yes’, allowing service of legal papers using Facebook.

The home office deduction can be very valuable for those whose principal place of business is their home — even if it isn’t their only place of business. But calculating the deduction hasn’t always been so easy. IRS has issued new rules simplifying how to do this. Previously, you had to track actual home expenses…

It seems everyone wants to know how best to select a spouse or long-term partner so as to avoid a break-up down the road. New information suggests that credit scores can be a predictor of whether a relationship will survive. Two Federal Reserve economists have examined the individual credit scores of millions of couples. Their…

Financial Affidavits are sworn statements each spouse must provide regarding their finances. They are critical in any divorce. The old two-page Financial Affidavit form has been replaced with two alternate forms, a long and a short version. The long form (six pages), is used when income or net assets exceed $75,000. The short form (four…

Most people really don’t know that much about picking among the myriad of funds offered by a typical 401(k) plan. Enter the managed plan.

Can you do couples therapy when one spouse, usually the husband, refuses to participate? More and more, the answer seems ‘yes’.

A 25-year study following 373 couples found that 46% have divorced. 210 of them were asked what they’d do differently. Five key points emerged.

The IRS is making it easier for most Americans to put away more money for retirement through their 401(k) plans by raising the contribution limits.

The Pew Research Center recently reported that fewer people in the U.S. are getting married.

The Connecticut Judicial Branch recently proposed rule changes to enable Connecticut lawyers to offer LSR, or ‘limited scope representation’ to their clients.

More people now pay Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), and many of them are hardly super-wealthy. This is because AMT is not indexed for inflation — so as income increases due to inflation, more people are ensnared by the AMT each year.

Money Magazine recently reported that almost 80% of married people hide some purchases from their spouses. And it’s the men who are more likely to do so!

It was the client’s honest perception that a conflict was created which was ultimately persuasive to require disqualification.

The conventional wisdom is usually that if a tax is due, it is better to pay it later than sooner. But such advice is being stood on its head this year because of the possible expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts.

The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that the principles of the child support guidelines chart now apply to higher-income families.

So many people were surprised when Al and Tipper Gore divorced after 40 years of a seemingly ideal marriage. But recent evidence indicates that this is a growing trend.

Most financial advisors agree that IRAs provide a great way to save for retirement. The IRS now allows you to convert your traditional IRA to a Roth, regardless of income.

The Pew Research Center recently reported that in one-third of marriages the wife now has more education than does the husband. And in 22% of marriages wives are now the primary breadwinners.

Asking for a prenup was once considered marriage poison. But not any more. Prenups are now more common, and many people use mediation to develop them.