Family Law SoftwareIt is a common misconception that it is easy to calculate alimony in a divorce case. After all, child support is calculated by a formula. Doesn’t alimony? Actually, not, except for a handful of states that do have a formula. (The states that have formulas include California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania.) And even those states that […]
by Nancy Chausow Shafer Every four years the Illinois Child Support Advisory Committee reviews the state’s child support guideline calculations. This is done to ensure child support calculations are fair and address the needs of children and families. The committee has made several significant changes to the Illinois child support calculation to support families. Family […]
Child and spousal support payments are common legal obligations that courts order daily throughout the entire country. But what happens when those payments are late or never arrive? Generally, the term “arrears” is used to describe child or spousal support payments that have not been paid when due. Arrears, however, is a term of art which includes the principal amount due as well as accrued interest. […]
Today we are releasing a revamped New Jersey Income screen that will make it a lot easier to enter income for the Case Information Statement (“CIS”). We ask for the same information as before, just in a different format that is easier to follow and easier to understand. Part C – Income Information – of […]
The Supreme Court of New Jersey updated the amounts used in the state’s child support guidelines, effective June 1, 2022. Our most recent update incorporated the very latest guideline rules into Family Law Software. Here are the key changes. Self-Support Reserve The self-support reserve increased from $372 to $392 per week. (The self-support reserve is […]
We were recently asked whether we could add an option to “spend all net income.” The financial advisor said that their client is just going to spend whatever is available and wanted the cash flow projections to reflect this. We have considered an option to “spend all excess funds.” But we have not done it, […]
Family Law Software automatically calculates child support step-downs. You can see this on the Enter Data screen for Child Support, in the section near the bottom of the screen entitled “Support to Use in ….” The step-down shows what will child support be when the oldest child ages out, then the next-oldest, and so on. […]
Did you know that, with Family Law Software, you can value annuities? You can, and here’s how! Create a defined benefit pension asset. Specify the owner, and click “more info.” Enter the information asked for by the “more info” screen, entering the information about birth dates, payment amount, etc. Enter the annuity’s payment start date […]
The American Rescue Plan provided for significantly increased Child Tax Credits. The credits for 2021 are up to $3,600 per qualifying child, as opposed to $2,000 before (and after). (In 2021, a qualifying child is typically a child under age 18 at the end of 2021 for whom the party claims the tax exemption.) The […]
A situation has arisen where parties are using proceeds of a refinancing to pay off a separate debt. The question is how to handle this in Family Law Software. There is no way to directly specify that a refinancing will pay off a party’s separate debt. You would be using marital debt to pay off […]