A very close family is going through a nasty divorce and her soon to be ex (after 35 years) will take her for whatever she has left, which isn't much. He already took her sanity and she hasn't quite been the same. Anyway, she recently came into a lot of money and I want to make sure he can't touch any of it, because once he finds out, believe me he'll try. I'm worried because their divorce is not finalized yet, neither has been issued that dreadfull hand delivered letter. I'm the only one that she has told about this so far and I told her to keep it that way until we figure things out. I'm not being mean when I say this, but I've had to do her thinking for her for the last 2 years and she is finally starting to get back some of her sanity as she was extremely blindsided by him. Should I speak to a lawyer or should I have her put the monies in someone elses name so he can't get to it. Or am I just being over paranoid because of him. She knows she can trust me and she'll listen to me so I want to make sure she comes out on top for once. Anyone been in this or a similar situation and any advice would greatly help. Thanks for listening, A.
I've gotta agree with Jan. She needs to split it with him. If he's got a shred of decency, maybe he'll refuse it.
Maybe he would agree to put the $ in a trust fund(s) if there are kids involved?
I would suggest contacting a lawyer for the best advice and to take care of things legally. There may be hope that your friend won't have to split the money with her ex. My SIL and her soon-to-be ex have been going through divorce proceedings for several months. She told me that assets they accumulate during this time do not need to be included when they divvy eveything up. Please understand I don't know if this is law, an agreement both parties came to or some special circumstance because of the point they are at in their divorce. I am simply mentioning it to give hope that it might not be an issue. Please seek sound legal advice. Best wishes to you and your friend.
wow, what a puzzle!
What happens if she spends it?? Could he come back and sue her and then she would owe half or else the car/house etc gets repossed???
I"m not sure any money is worth dealign with the jerk. Sounds like she just needs to get out and get away. I bet a womens shelter would give her free legal advice.
I was so curious i asked a lawyer friend about this, he says in Pa, oh i'm forgetting all the technical mumbo, but if she recieves it after they are legally separated, not neccissarily actually divorced, she can keep it with out sharing. But this is just third party info, she needs some real legal advice before she does anything. The Bar Association can sometimes put you in touch with a lawyer that will do pro bono work (free). Worth a call at least.
g luck
Aimme, I would not take any advice from these posts except to consult an attorney. Most will give a free consultation. There are too many factors and could result in legal action if not done correctly.
if it's in her name she got problems. How far along are they? i guess still working out details, hand delivered letter? don't know what you mean by that the final divorce decree and usually all the other papers come in the mail.
Depends also how she came into the money, she should tell her lawyer and see what they say.
You could try contacting a lawyer, but I don't know that it will help. If the winnings are in her name and the divorce is not finalized....unfortunately it could be his too. When I was going through a divorce, my ex was not living with me, had not been for almost a year. Nothing of his remained in the house except the kids. He was giving me a hard time with child support. On and on.....you get the picture. I got a really decent job and worked really hard at it too. I was very excited about getting a tax refund, because I could get the kids some much needed clothing. Well......because the divorce was not finalized and he had a student loan out (in his name only) the state decided that they would satisfy his loan with my tax refund. Their reasoning was........the divorce was not final so what was mine was also his regardless of the situation. My ex's response was.....well at least I don't have to worry about that bill anymore. GREAT! I feel your friends pain, but I really think she should seek some advice and fast. My thought is that if he has any debts that he is not paying up on, not only could he wipe her out, but somebody else may have the opportunity to as well. I wish you luck with helping your friend, and God bless your for standing with her to help her.
Ashley F's advice sounds like fraud.
Don't risk it. Be honest.
She should take advantage of the federal gift tax rules. The gift tax rules allow you to make a gift of $11,000 per year to any individual without gift tax consequences. There is no limit on the number of people to whom you can give. There are no income tax consequences to the recipient of the gift. The donor pays no tax for each gift under $11,000 a year, and does not receive any income tax deduction for the amount of the gift given.
Under those rules, every person is entitled to a combined lifetime exemption of $600,000 for gift and estate tax purposes. This exemption allows an individual to transfer, either during lifetime or after death, $1,000,000 of assets without paying any gift or estate tax.
While the actual regulations are complex, the concept is that for every time an individual exceeds the $11,000 limit, his or her lifetime exemption is reduced by the amount of the gift above that limit. For example, if you give someone $15,000 in one year, you would be required to file a gift tax return. You would not be required to actually pay any tax; instead, the information return would reduce your lifetime exemption from $1,000,000 to $996,000.
If in a later year you gave a $25,000 gift to someone, you would again file a gift tax return and reduce your lifetime exemption by $14,000, from $996,000 to $982,000. If you made no more taxable gifts during your lifetime, your estate would be entitled to a $982,000 exemption at your death. Although you would not pay any taxes in the years that you made the gifts, a larger portion of your estate could be subject to the estate tax when you die.
So basically she could give you up to a million dollars without having to pay tax on it. I'm not sure if you would have to pay taxes on any amount over $11,000, you would have to look into that or she could just spread the money out over several people. If she puts the money into trust accounts for children complicated trust tax rules may apply.
I hope that helps.
