Sue K. Varon's Blog (4)

Budget means a rise in litigation, says Hammonds Apr 28 2009 by Tom Scotney, Birmingham Post The bleak picture of the financial year ahead painted by the Budget will lead to a dramatic increase in litigation, lawyers from Hammonds have claimed. The chancellor has said that the next financial year will be the worst in terms of economic performance since the Second World War. And as the financial pressure increases, businesses will want to recoup and prevent losses as quickly as possible, which… Continue

In today’s economy a new issue has arisen regarding stock options that once upon a time had value as a marital asset. With the economic downturn, a majority of stock options are now underwater. Approximately, two thirds of public companies report their stock options underwater. How should we treat this asset in a divorce settlement? Companies that issue stock options have to report the outstanding options as an expense on their books, driving meager earnings down. As a result, new policies are… Continue

Many of us have worked on cases where the ultimate property settlement was hampered due to lack of liquidity. This often occurs in families where the most significant asset is either a closely held business or real estate. Often one of the parties requests that the ultimate disposition of these non-liquid assets be finalized some time in the future when the closely held business or real estate interest is sold. He or she further posits that the real value of these assets will only be known with… Continue

With tax season in our midst, the question of claiming the child dependency exemption is consistently posed by our clients. Here is a recent development that you should keep in mind. As you may know, the non-custodial parent can claim the child dependency exemption, as long as the custodial parent signs a waiver promising not to claim the exemption. This is typically accomplished by the use of IRS Form 8332 (which was revised in January 2009.) Recent amendments to IRS regulations provide that a… Continue