Family Issues

There are three kinds of Subpoena. A Subpoena to Testify requires a person to come to the Court to testify as a witness. A Subpoena for Records requires either documents or papers or writings, etc. to be brought to the Court. A Information Subpoena requires that information be provided to the person requesting it. If not obeyed, the court can order the person to appear and hold the person n contempt of court if they disobey. Sanctions such as fines can also be ordered. Avoiding service of a subpoena is hard to prove and may not be punishable at all.

In the year you are divorced you must file as single or head of household if you have a child living with you.

If your ex-spouse is deducting alimony payments to you, he is required to include your social security number on his return to claim the deduction. The IRS will cross reference your return with his to make sure you include the alimony received on your return.

Yes. By mutual agreement one spouse can forego the deduction for alimony and the other spouse can receive the benefit of not being required to pay taxes on the alimony received.

Expenses of administering an estate can be deducted either from the gross estate in figuring the Federal Estate tax on Form 706 or from the Estate's gross income in figuring the estate's income tax on Form 1041.
These expenses cannot be claimed for both estate tax and income tax purposes.
Generally, this rule also applies to expenses incurred in the sale of property by an estate that is not considered a dealer.
Administration expenses include the fees paid to the fiduciary for administering the estate. It also includes the accountant, attorney and tax-return preparer fees. Also, expenses incurred for the production or collection of taxable income and expenses incurred for the management, conservation, or maintenance of property held for the production of taxable income.
It also can include any expenses in connection with the determination, collection, or refund of any tax.

Congress has joined the Gift Tax and the Estate Tax together.
If you give more than $14,000 to any person per year ($28,000 with your spouse), you will be subject to the Gift Tax.
If your gift to any person is in excess of $14,000 ($28,000 for married individuals) then you will have to file a Gift Tax return which is generally due April 15 of the year following the gift.
The amount of the gift in excess of $14,000 ($28,000 for married persons) will reduce your lifetime exemption for Estate Taxes by the amount of the excess.

For the year 2013, 5,250,000 Million. State tax thresholds vary per state

Probate is a proceeding in State Court after a person dies.
The purpose of Probate is to transfer title to property from the decedent to his or her heirs and to settle any debt liabilities owed by the decedent at the time of death.
Probate is completely avoidable, as long as the avoidance is done before death.
Generally, Probate is very expensive, with costs of approximately $3,500 for every $100,000 of gross estate. Generally, Probate takes a long time. It takes at least 6 months and frequently 1 to 2 years or more. If the decedent had a Will, the contents of the Will are a public record and anyone can go to the courthouse and find out who is going to get what distribution amount.
Speak to your local CPA or attorney for more information.

One strategy to avoid Probate is through the use of a "Living" or Inter-vivos Revocable Trust. During the lifetimes of the individuals a Trust is created, husband and wife are both the Trustees of the Trust, so they have complete control of it. The Trust is amendable and can be changed at any time by the individuals who created it. When one or both individuals die there is no Probate, provided the individuals took the time while they were living to transfer all of their assets into their Trust. This entails the retitling of assets such as bank accounts, real estate, and stock brokerage accounts into the name of the trust. During their lifetimes, these individuals name who they want to be their trust's successor trustee. The successor trustee could be a family member, friend, an advisor or bank. When death occurs, the surviving spouse typically takes over as the successor trustee and manages the assets. Then when the surviving spouse dies, the successor trustee named in the trust takes over and distributes the assets according to the terms the individuals stated in their trust. There are also other strategies available. Speak to your local CPA or attorney for more details.