Author Topic: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?  (Read 29611 times)

TrMama

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #50 on: September 08, 2014, 12:50:24 PM »
What does your husband think of this plan?

Rika Non

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #51 on: September 08, 2014, 01:22:35 PM »
Drey: 

I for one say it would be worth considering.  Sort of a large step if you are already married, but the marriage penalty is real.  It is one of the large reasons for my long and on-going engagement. Though I think what you would save is a lot less than 20k, I know the penalty for marriage in my case with slightly higher incomes is more like 10-12k / yr.

The one thing you need to think of would be when to re-marry for retirement.  If either of you have pensions or some sort of defined benefit plan, then you would want to be married prior to retirement.  But at your ages, being divorced for 10-15 years on paper ... sure why not?

I for one don't think you are crazy for contemplating this. 
Here’s at least one vote for considering it.

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HopetoFIRE

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #52 on: September 08, 2014, 01:30:02 PM »
I really would advise against the divorce, IMO.  We are in a similar situation (same field) you are in and understand how painful it is to hand over so much money to the government.  I make about 75% of our combined income and have considered filing separately, but definitely not divorce (ok, I've brought it up jokingly, but would never really do it).  I have a couple reasons why I would not do it.  1) It goes against what we had promised to do when we took our marriage vows.  2) What are we teaching our kids, really?  That it is ok to divorce over a certain amount of money in order to cheat the government?  3) I know that your DH is probably very committed to your relationship, as you are.  However, what if one day, either one of you feels less motivated to work on your relationship since you are already divorced anyway?  You are the one who are likely will be penalized financially since you are a higher earner. 

Are you employed by the hospital or are you with a group?  If with a group, I would look into if your employer would consider a profit sharing/401k plan.  That will allow you to increase your contribution to $52k per year.  I would also see what your withholding is at.  It's odd to me that you would have owed $18k with your salary.  We were at about $450k last year (post profit sharing contribution, withholding at 0 for both, DH with roth 401k) and we only owed 3-4k?  When I got my bonuses, they took out 45% of it though (no additional taxes withheld).  So big ouch there. 

I feel like it is better to keep a marriage intact, at least mine, rather than ending it to find a tax loophole.  At the end of the day, not all decisions should be solely made based on taxes.  It's something my CPA always tells me, but definitely hard to follow since we pay such a huge chunk each year.  Better bet would be to cut frivolous expenses out and try to save more that way. 

charis

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #53 on: September 08, 2014, 01:31:49 PM »
Someone up thread pointed out the problem of an audit.   I don't know the answer, but how could you get divorced and continue to be "married" without raising red flags?  Practically speaking, are you going to be divorced or be married with respect to your children?  Dad and mom are getting divorced, but not really?  (I suspect your children would see this as scam-like).  Not say anything to them and hope they don't catch wind of the divorce?  How about explaining that you would have stayed married if it didn't cost you so much money? Because that's the truth.  It seem very messy. 

If you didn't really want to get married in the first place, but did it because you had to or thought you had too, fine, more power to you.  But if you got married for love and because you wanted to, is the money really enough to change that?

 

Villanelle

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #54 on: September 08, 2014, 01:51:38 PM »
You could save very little.  You'd have to pay for the divorce, which I'm sure costs something even if it isn't contested.  You'd have to pay for the legal documents to set yourselves up with as many of the rights that come with marriage as you can get.  You face complications and higher taxes when one of you passes first. 

Granted, those are one time things, but they still eat away at the already minimal savings.  Presumably, you got married because you want to be married.  For a couple making $300k a year, it seems extremely cheap to give up whatever advantages you once saw in marriage, for a minimal savings.

Also, you have to give some thought to what happens if the relationship does actually end.  You will already be divorced, so custody, alimony, asset division, etc., will already have been settled, in the eyes of the court.  If suddenly your relationship dies and you no longer find those terms favorable, you've ceded a lot of your legal protections. 

sheepstache

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #55 on: September 08, 2014, 02:45:26 PM »
This thread is much less exciting than the subject line led me to believe.

I did know a kid in college whose parents divorced, strictly on paper, to improve the financial aid picture, but I don't know any details.

SummerLovin

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #56 on: September 08, 2014, 04:24:26 PM »
It doesn't hurt to do the math, but, you have to do all the math and some "what if" scenarios to determine if it's worth it. Personally, I wouldn't get divorced just for the savings, and since your financial circumstances could change significantly it probably won't be as big a savings as you think.  You should consider hiring a tax attorney (vs. divorce attorney)  and see what things you can do differently through estate tax planning, that may save you more in the long run. Your accountant (hopefully  CPA) should already be advising you on general tax/financial planning, and maximizing your itemized deductions, but a tax attorney can provide the legal perspective on the matter as well a confidentiality the CPA can't.

daverobev

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #57 on: September 08, 2014, 04:45:55 PM »
Horrible question. Your income is astronomical, you gain so much by living together vs the expense of living alone already. Getting a divorce to save tax is closer to tax evasion than mitigation - IMHO.

I get it. Tax is... not fairly distributed. Nobody 'likes' paying tax, but most people benefit a lot from the society it enables. Pay up.

Beric01

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #58 on: September 08, 2014, 05:19:33 PM »
Horrible question. Your income is astronomical, you gain so much by living together vs the expense of living alone already. Getting a divorce to save tax is closer to tax evasion than mitigation - IMHO.

I get it. Tax is... not fairly distributed. Nobody 'likes' paying tax, but most people benefit a lot from the society it enables. Pay up.

This is a silly argument. People live together all the time without being married, and I would argue many of them are just as committed as a married couple. "Marriage" is just a word that tends to signify commitment to a lot of people.

I have a co-worker who "married" her husband for all intents and purposes, yet in the eyes of the law is still single. Both of them are high-income. They did it for tax purposes. She still tells everyone they're married. Just because you have or don't have the piece of paper means nothing.

I actually think the government should get out of marriage completely, but that's another topic.

fantabulous

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #59 on: September 08, 2014, 05:27:30 PM »
As someone who is not yet legally allowed to marry my partner of 10 years, the mother of my two children, I can tell you that I would be happy to pay an extra 20k in taxes every year for that right.  We have MANY other expenses that we would not have if our marriage was legally recognized in our home state (health care, legal costs, etc.).  And we have a high, but disparate income, so we took a hit on taxes this year too (the first year we were required to file jointly for federal taxes, but still as unmarried for state purposes)...

This was pretty much what I wanted to post, as someone else who can't get legally married for love. Consider all of the legal costs for various documents to provide the same benefits the piece of paper does. Consider the legal costs of figuring out how many documents you'll need in the first place. I have no idea what those numbers might be. That piece of paper isn't just an affirmation of your feelings for your partner, though, as you're already aware.

Beric01

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #60 on: September 08, 2014, 05:37:10 PM »
We're disgusted enough with the state's actions on marriage that we've discussed divorce in the past, and if it ever becomes seriously advantageous for us (I'm envisioning since nightmare scenario involving the AMT), we'd certainly take a look at it more seriously. Our relationship, as understood by ourselves and our community, is irrevocable and will end only with one of our deaths, so state sanction on that account is irrelevant. If legal marriage becomes a net bureaucratic disadvantage, we'll certainly look into doing away with it.

That being said, I don't think you're at that point.

There's just so many benefits right now. For example, as a single person, my unused Social Security benefits will go straight back to the government if I die unexpectedly. For a married person, it flows straight to their spouse. I'm not allowed to designate a beneficiary or anything - it's just another one of those benefits that discriminate against single people.

chasesfish

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #61 on: September 08, 2014, 05:54:00 PM »
Drey - What type of practice do you work in?  Many physicians practices and hospitals have a non-qualified deferred compensation plan.   I have one of these through my work (finance) and it helps high income professionals defer more than the $17,500/year.

The funds are technically an asset of the company, but this is what I commonly see medical and finance professionals use to save more pre-tax.

The other option is to become an independent contractor and be paid through 1099, then use a SEP IRA.  This can be more challenging depending on the malpractice insurance.

The last option is do what we did, my wife is a veterinarian making about the same as your husband.  She just quit work and started her early retirement.  She picks up a shift every now and then for some pocket change, but I've still got 3-5 years left.  We didn't think it was worth her giving away almost 50% of her earnings that we didn't need to the government.   She's been remodeling the house for the last six months.

Drey

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #62 on: September 08, 2014, 07:38:34 PM »
I looked a little bit more into our taxes. I think it's costing actually around $6k, because we lose dependent care deductions, etc. It is interesting to me that the amount makes such a difference in people's feelings on the situation, like it would be ok at $20k but not at $2k.  I've also heard of a paper divorce for financial aid and qualifying for Medicaid.

I appreciate comments on how to better position my taxes. As above, I am brand new to the high income category and will discuss this with our CPA. I am currently an employee without the profit sharing option mentioned above. I could possibly be an independent contractor but that makes malpractice way more expensive.

We are looking into having husband scale back. He is applying for his Professional Engineering license and wants to work for himself as a consultant. He is currently at a startup and his stock vests next year, so he's sticking it out until then.

I would also like to cut back my time at work significantly, but we need to save a lot first, which is how I ended up in this corner of the Internet.


Roland of Gilead

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #63 on: September 08, 2014, 08:37:00 PM »
We went through the numbers and our solution to the marriage penalty was for me to quit and take care of the house, do some remodeling, a little side business, most house chores and cooking (I like to cook too).

Essentially when you have one spouse making $250K and the other making $50K, the $50K spouse's income could be viewed as being taxed at 50%.  (SS+medicare = 7%, federal tax = 33%, commuting expenses = 10%)   Who wants to work at a job while being taxed 50% (or more if you pay state tax) and having both people grumpy after a long commute, spending more for ready made dinners or eating out because both are too tired to prepare dinner.

This way we get to make the government bend over, because I get half her SS and contribute nothing to the system.  Stickin it to the man!

mudgestache

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #64 on: September 08, 2014, 08:40:24 PM »
@Roland of Gilead...LOVE the name :)

MDM

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #65 on: September 08, 2014, 08:45:01 PM »
I looked a little bit more into our taxes.
Well done - given the amount of taxes you are paying, it behooves you to understand them well.

General questions: By the way, how much does the CPA cost?  Are you using the CPA to help you legally minimize your taxes, or merely to help you calculate them?  A combination of Quicken and TurboTax (or any other good financial tracking and tax calculation software) is almost certainly less expensive than hiring a CPA merely to "do your taxes."  The cost/benefit of other CPA activities (if any) is for you to evaluate.

Specific issue: When you wrote that $18K check, was any for underpayment interest and penalty?  How much to you expect to pay in April 2015, and will that include any underpayment interest and penalty?

theadvicist

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #66 on: September 09, 2014, 01:52:42 AM »
Not actually sure how divorce works, but wouldn't you have to lie on the paperwork? We have to give a reason - adultery, abandonment, whatever. If you would have to lie to achieve the divorce, surely that's fraud.

I also hadn't thought about what happens in the event of death. The marriage contract is a legal contract and it infers many rights and responsibilities. Look into what each of them are and see if you are happy to do without them, or willing to pay for legal documents to reinstate them eg. visiting rights in hospital, end of life care, inheritance etc.

Finally, I would say (and this in only my opinion), that as you are living in a country that does not allow everyone to marry, it seems a very privileged position to be in to think about throwing all of those many advantages away to save a bit of tax. The law says that when you marry, you gain a lot, so we make you pay a bit more tax. If you don't like it, vote differently. There are aspects of each of our governments policies we don't like. You can't pick and chose which laws you like and only abide by those ones (without facing consequences).


Thegoblinchief

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #67 on: September 09, 2014, 06:54:30 AM »
I thought the title of the thread would make it WAY more interesting.

Far more than optimizing finances, this place is about simplifying your life. What you're thinking of doing adds a ton of extra complexity for 2% of your combined income ($6K of $300K).

Not worth it, even if it is legal/non-fraudulent.

matchewed

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #68 on: September 09, 2014, 07:58:16 AM »
Pretty darn sure that there is 6k worth of optimization outside of the divorce option. Perhaps look into that before entertaining the dissolving of your marriage.

dandarc

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #69 on: September 09, 2014, 08:15:32 AM »
I looked a little bit more into our taxes. I think it's costing actually around $6k, because we lose dependent care deductions, etc. It is interesting to me that the amount makes such a difference in people's feelings on the situation, like it would be ok at $20k but not at $2k.  I've also heard of a paper divorce for financial aid and qualifying for Medicaid.

I appreciate comments on how to better position my taxes. As above, I am brand new to the high income category and will discuss this with our CPA. I am currently an employee without the profit sharing option mentioned above. I could possibly be an independent contractor but that makes malpractice way more expensive.

We are looking into having husband scale back. He is applying for his Professional Engineering license and wants to work for himself as a consultant. He is currently at a startup and his stock vests next year, so he's sticking it out until then.

I would also like to cut back my time at work significantly, but we need to save a lot first, which is how I ended up in this corner of the Internet.
Props on getting a better handle on your situation.  Here, more than most places on the internet, 20K / year is a TON of money - many households here operate on that amount of money for 6-12 months or more.

Cutting taxes helps a lot, but it is more of an "increase the income" thing than a "cut the expenses" thing.  If you can learn to live on say 50K / year, regardless of your income, you can live on that amount per year indefinitely - this has a bigger impact on your ability to retire early than cutting taxes does, because it reduces the amount you need to get to - 25 times 50K is 1.25 million - a very attainable goal, particularly with your income.

Mega

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #70 on: September 09, 2014, 04:55:33 PM »
One option not mentioned is you could hire your husband part time and pay him awesome money. This way you could transfer money to a lower bracket. But check with your accountant.

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #71 on: September 09, 2014, 05:15:59 PM »
Hi Drey- Had a similar situation and it was not fun. 2013 was year 2 of my marriage and unlike year 1 where I got a nice fat refund, my hubby and I had to write a check to the government.

The most useful thing that happened (after I finished freaking out), was my accountant put together a  line by line comparison between the 2012 and 2013 tax forms to identify what changed. Really helpful to really educate myself on what is really important. Short version was that it was a mix of some new additional taxes (new Medicaid tax, state tax and another tax that I can't remember), I changed my W4 status and with-held less, we donated a lot less to charity and our income changed mid year. It was 2-3 mid sized changes and 3 small changes and I was also surprised how they added up. Based on the analysis, for 2014, we and the CPA came up with a better action plan.

Maybe have a second person check your CPA's work. I'm glad to have gone through the experience since it forced me to learn more about taxes and be more responsible so hopefully no more unpleasant surprises. The divorce sounds way too complicated.

Johnez

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #72 on: September 09, 2014, 06:20:18 PM »


Sounds to me you are looking for a magic pill to solve your problems.
Don't be ridiculous.
On that income, you both could retire in 5 years flat if you really wanted to. Without a "divorce."
Focus on getting $104,000 / year into your 401k's. (e.g. get out off the hospitals payroll, and become independent and max out a solo 401k.)
Cut expenses.

You know, the "hard" stuff.

Holy crap, this is a veritable GOLD MINE.  I've not heard much about this.  Coupled with the 401k-Roth pipeline, this is sounds like the fast track to retirement.  Damn, now to figure out how to pull 6 figures on my own!

Petunia 100

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #73 on: September 09, 2014, 11:16:42 PM »
One option not mentioned is you could hire your husband part time and pay him awesome money. This way you could transfer money to a lower bracket. But check with your accountant.

This makes no sense at all.   Since they file jointly, they are in the same bracket.   Pay her husband for what?   She is not self-employed, so cannot hire him and write it off as a business expense.  Hire him as household help?  What she pays is a personal expense and is not deductible, and what he earns is taxable.  Along with increasing their taxable income, she now owes employer payroll taxes. 

SnackDog

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #74 on: September 10, 2014, 02:37:13 AM »
We are happy to receive the marriage benefit in our taxes, as opposed to the penalty.  Also pay a fortune in taxes but less than people on most countries so not unhappy about US income tax rates.

My issue is liability.  So something as "minor" as maiming a pedestrian with the car could draw a $15 million judgement and wipe us out including all property and savings (except for the paltry exclusions California makes in such cases).  I was thinking of divorcing and in the divorce splitting the savings and property to reduce our legal liability in half.  Before we were married it was difficult to do such an asset transfer; now it's easy. The flip side is, as others have mentioned, the limited legal rights of non-married people in inheritance, medical issues, etc.

Petunia 100

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #75 on: September 10, 2014, 11:36:41 AM »
We are happy to receive the marriage benefit in our taxes, as opposed to the penalty.  Also pay a fortune in taxes but less than people on most countries so not unhappy about US income tax rates.

My issue is liability.  So something as "minor" as maiming a pedestrian with the car could draw a $15 million judgement and wipe us out including all property and savings (except for the paltry exclusions California makes in such cases).  I was thinking of divorcing and in the divorce splitting the savings and property to reduce our legal liability in half.  Before we were married it was difficult to do such an asset transfer; now it's easy. The flip side is, as others have mentioned, the limited legal rights of non-married people in inheritance, medical issues, etc.

Why don't you look into an umbrella insurance policy?   That might set your mind at ease.

Malloy

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #76 on: September 23, 2014, 12:23:33 PM »
I looked a little bit more into our taxes. I think it's costing actually around $6k, because we lose dependent care deductions, etc. It is interesting to me that the amount makes such a difference in people's feelings on the situation, like it would be ok at $20k but not at $2k.  I've also heard of a paper divorce for financial aid and qualifying for Medicaid.

I appreciate comments on how to better position my taxes. As above, I am brand new to the high income category and will discuss this with our CPA. I am currently an employee without the profit sharing option mentioned above. I could possibly be an independent contractor but that makes malpractice way more expensive.

We are looking into having husband scale back. He is applying for his Professional Engineering license and wants to work for himself as a consultant. He is currently at a startup and his stock vests next year, so he's sticking it out until then.

I would also like to cut back my time at work significantly, but we need to save a lot first, which is how I ended up in this corner of the Internet.

Good on you for hearing the advice here and rethinking your initial position.  I think a beloved spouse is worth 6k/year, easy. And, honestly, I'd check your CPAs numbers.  Is your income about 250k?  Because you actually shield some income from taxes by being married and filing jointly.  For example, the 0.9% Medicare tax starts at 250k for joint incomes, but at 200k for individual incomes. That's not much, but make sure you are considering it.  Also, the 33% tax bracket starts at about 180k for singles, but at about 225k for marrieds. That's not to say that there isn't a marriage penalty for certain filers, but there are features of the tax code to smooth it out.  You may want to also ask him about PEP and Pease, which may be where your perception of a penalty is coming from.  PEP and Pease started up again recently, maybe in 2013?, and they tend to have more effect on higher income filers.  I don't think divorce would cure the effects of PEP and Pease changes, because you'd still be on the hook for them with your income level, and I actually think PEP is marriage-independent.  But I'm not sure, because reading about those particular rule changes makes my eyes swim.


Exflyboy

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #77 on: September 23, 2014, 01:37:53 PM »
OK unless your hubby is just out of school he is well underpaid as an engineer

I was paying $85k for an engineer with 3 years experience!

Engineers with 10 to 15 years are worth $100k plus.

Frank

CommonCents

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #78 on: September 23, 2014, 01:59:16 PM »
I looked a little bit more into our taxes. I think it's costing actually around $6k, because we lose dependent care deductions, etc. It is interesting to me that the amount makes such a difference in people's feelings on the situation, like it would be ok at $20k but not at $2k.  I've also heard of a paper divorce for financial aid and qualifying for Medicaid.

No, I'm opposed regardless of $ because I think it skirts/is tax fraud if you remain living together and acting as a married couple.  And no amount of "savings" is worth doing time...  Call up the IRS and ask them if this tactic is legit - I bet the answer is no.  Stick with tax avoidance rather than tax evasion.

GetItRight

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #79 on: September 23, 2014, 04:37:08 PM »
A marriage is no more or less legitimate or valid because you have government permission or acknowledgement of it. Marriage is a personal agreement between individuals (or a religious agreement/institution, if you're so inclined). I'm amazed so many here among a crowd so quick to crucify someone for a $325/yr coffee habit which you actually get something (however ridiculous it may be every day at convenience stores) yet crucify someone for considering a $20k/yr savings while giving up nothing tangible, no change to lifestyle and with only a single instance investment of time to get things changed and set up. Absolutely insane!

If there actually is a $20k/yr savings, year after year, then by all means get divorced. Keep your rings and keep your personal agreement. Have a small ceremony/renewing of vows in your back yard or somewhere nice (but not expensive) with some friends and family if that suits you. Do your research and if divorce means the government steals $20k less from you at gunpoint every year, do it! That money can pay off your student loans and mortgage much quicker then go to investments. It does you and everyone else no good going to the government and arguably does us all harm whereas you saving and spending when you ER benefits you individually as well as the economy as a whole.

That being said, I highly doubt there is a $20k savings. Crunch the numbers for filing married jointly vs married separate vs single individually. I bet the marriage tax in your case is a few grand at most. Still absurd but for me wouldn't be worth the aggravation of the paperwork and planning to get everything in place legally considering taxes laws and income changes over the years and if ER is the goal you will presumably have a much lower taxable income at that point and may receive a marriage subsidy at that point.

TN_Steve

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #80 on: September 23, 2014, 05:14:52 PM »
I looked a little bit more into our taxes. I think it's costing actually around $6k, because we lose dependent care deductions, etc. It is interesting to me that the amount makes such a difference in people's feelings on the situation, like it would be ok at $20k but not at $2k.  I've also heard of a paper divorce for financial aid and qualifying for Medicaid.

....


We've been in your shoes and are again.  Wife is doc making a fair bit more than you, while I'm between you and your DH.  We examined paper divorce back in early 90s when, like now, we faced substantial marriage penalty.  Decided against for a variety of reasons:

*  Sentiment (hokey, but for us it did make a difference)
*  Cost/inefficiency of documentation workarounds to fill the gap vis-a-vis Healthcare and financial PoAs, etc.  [edit:  I am an attorney, and thought too much hassle]
*  Estate Planning (Mentioned by others and HUGE for you in 25 years or less)
*  If lower earner (me) mostly retires to raise kids, you can get marriage benefit during the years of SAHParenting.
*  Asset protection for things held jointly (depends on state), which can be attained otherwise, but for $$--see factor 2.

Bottom line, to us, it wasn't worth it. (But, YMMV!)

Another thought/observation is that you seem concerned with paying taxes each April.  That is a good thing--if you are on top of things and know how much the tab will be (and you meet withholding safeharbors).  My best tax year, due to special factors, resulted in an electronic transfer of more than we'll ever spend on a car to the Feds on April 15.  Of course, that was when the tax-free interest on a municipal bond fund was worth catching; today, it is hardly worth bothering with..... 

Finally, as others have said, you have, or at least can have, opportunities to put far more than 17,500 away each year.  If you are in a small enough practice environment, push to have employer max out on plan contributions, or as you noted in another comment, look into breaking out on your own.  The present 415 limit is $52,000.

Good luck.  :-)



« Last Edit: September 23, 2014, 05:16:44 PM by TN_Steve »

chops

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Re: Reader Case Study- should I divorce my husband?
« Reply #81 on: September 27, 2014, 02:32:18 PM »
Great topic!  A lot of very thought provoking ideas here - it looks like the math of it depends on the lower income earner earning a much lower amount, and if you continue earning at a high level, then there is a marriage benefit.  It seems that if the lower income earner is also earning enough to push you over the dreaded $250k barrier it does work against you. 

So, sounds like more fuel for DH to RE, or maybe you both work part time?