Divorce in Columbus, Georgia

All divorce cases in Columbus, Georgia should go through some kind of court proceeding. Even if the spouses agree on property division and custody, visitation, and support issues, the court will still have to allow the divorce. In many states, divorce cases, contested and no-fault are dealt by a special court generally referred to as “family court,” “domestic relations court,” or “divorce court.” These courts generally handle with only family-related cases like divorce, child custody and support, and sometimes, adoption. Divorce in Columbus, Georgia can be stressful for both spouses and the children. The stakes are higher when there are children from the marriage. Divorce in Columbus, Georgia has tax implications. If you get spousal support, you should report it as taxable income. If you are giving spousal support, you can deduct it. If you get alimony, you need to plan for the likely tax impact of the income. Unlike an employer, your past spouse won’t hold back any taxes from your support check. You should deduct spousal support payments on your income tax return, but not child support or property distributions. You can, however, make spousal support payments nontaxable and nondeductible as long as it goes both ways and you both agree by stating as much in your marital settlement agreement. You should consider doing this if the spouse receiving support is in a higher tax bracket than the giving spouse or if the giving spouse doesn’t need the tax deduction and the receiving spouse doesn’t want to report the income.

Columbus GA divorce lawyer & Georgia child custody attorney