What is Accumulated Savings?
In real life, when there is positive net cash flow at the end of the year, it is reinvested. The Accumulated Savings account in Family Law Software represents that reinvestment account. In real life, those funds are typically invest in a portfolio. In the software, that happens as well. The Accumulated Savings account is invested […]
How can I show children’s assets (including 529 Plans) being used for college?
Suppose you have a pool of assets that you have designated as children’s assets. They may be in a 529 Plan, or not. You can enter them as either “Cash and Investment” assets, or as “IRA/401k” assets. The advantage of entering it as an IRA/401k is that you can enter annual contributions, and the software […]
A third party (such as a grandparent) has custody of the child. How can I calculate the child support that each of the two parents owes to the third party?
We are not aware of any state in which there is a formula for this. One approach would be the following: 1. Enter the parent parties’ incomes and the children. 2. Set custody with the first party, with the actual # of overnights that the 2nd party has assigned to 2nd party. 3. This would […]
How can I handle a net operating loss carryforward?
A net operating loss carryforward is an anticipated tax deduction in excess of regular taxes calculated by Family Law Software. If you want to focus on the income aspect, you can override the “Other income” line on View/Edit Taxes for each year in which the loss will be carried forward. Enter the amount of the […]
How can I specify local city wage taxes?
Some municipalities, particularly in Ohio and Pennsylvania, levy city wage taxes. These taxes are a percent of gross wages paid to people who work in the cities. To enter a city wage tax, click “more info” on the line where you enter wages. You will see an entry for a percent for local wage tax […]
How should I handle a Health Savings Account (HSA)?
There are entries in the software for Health Savings Account contributions. These entries are located below the entries for health insurance. Those entries are used in the tax calculations and financial projections. Whether the values flow to the child support calculation varies by state. A few states count HSA contributions as a deduction. Most don’t. […]
How can I calculate child support modifications if there is split custody (each parent is custodial for one or more children)?
Here are the steps to take: 1. Save the file under a different name. This will be a “what if” file. 2. In this file, indicate that the oldest child is not of an age to be eligible for child support, by clearing the “Eligible Age” box on the line for that child. 3. See […]
How can I calculate Family Support?
“Family Support” is a calculation that is popular in California. It follows a California statute that allows people to designate payments from one spouse to another as “Family Support,” meaning an undifferentiated combination of child and spousal support. The hope is that this all will be taxed as spousal support, but that may not happen. […]
How can I handle the reimbursement (equalization) in a situation in which the wife has given separate property to the husband (or vice versa)?
Just specify that the separate property is given to the other party. Then the situation is automatically reflected on the Marital Property Division screen. Let us illustrate in a case that has only one asset. It is a real estate property worth $500,000 (no mortgage, for simplicity), in which the wife has a $100,000 separate […]
How do I compute the child support guideline amount?
Enter the information relating to child support on the Enter Data tab, on the screen for child support there. View and print the child support guideline worksheet on that tab, on the screen to print child support. The software can calculate child support for twenty-two states: California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, […]