Yes, most divorcees DON'T have disposable income [ what's that?] compared to married life. One has only so many apples [income] in the basket post-divorce which means one's standard of living gets modified and down scaled.

Quick Books has a good budget program. It's user friendly and will give you an analysis of what you can expect annually from your future incoming income vs outgoing expenses . And yes, taxes is an expense. If you're so concerned for unexpected "living" increases, factor in and tack on 5% . Let's hope stbx will accept the numbers.

You can input your pre-calculated future "taxable income" after deductions using the most current tax 1040 form to get a sense of your tax estimate cost. It takes a little effort to input the numbers.

I agree! A tax is an expense. So is a cost of living increase. Why, oh why, don't they factor that in? Crazy.

Thanks for the tip about Quick Books. I will check that out. Was looking for a good way to organize that.

Unfortunately, alimony is taxable income to YOU and a deduction for the payer. I only know of ONE person on this board who managed to get her X to NOT claim the alimony paid, which kept her from having to claim it as income. That's a rare case, I believe.

You are NOT going to get exact numbers as to what your future expenses may be. You can figure a percentage for income tax (mine worked out to about 17% after deductions) but you can forget "cost of living increases." That's why your attorney MAY be suggesting that you get some kind of job - to have additional income.

The BIGGEST THING I factored in was what health insurance was going to cost me post-divorce. I opted to stay on the X's employee plan because it was so comprehensive with no deductibles and great co-pays. But it wasn't cheap. I stayed on it for the full three years and to be honest, that's the ONLY thing I really miss about being married to him! But I figured it out. I didn't starve to death and I was able to live pretty much the same as I had during the marriage. Three years later, I found other insurance. It's not as good, but it works.

I'm more than 7 years out from divorce now. The alimony ended over a year ago. I am living on the profit I made from the sale of my farm in 2013 and I have a considerable sum in my ROTH and regular IRAs but don't plan to touch it at least until I'm 70. You will be fine! There's no way you can predict every possible expense that's coming down the road. Have a little faith in yourself and like Tobywin said -- run some of the numbers yourself. You don't need an accountant for this.

One thing to consider--- in the eyes of the IRS, if you were still married in 2014, you can still file jointly at tax time.. Could help. My ex and I filed separately in year of our divorce. Helped me, hurt him.

Not sure why there would be serios tax problems if you are simply transferring property. Even with retirement accounts, you are rolling them over but I'm no accountant so I hope you hear from yours.

In the agreement, it says that we will be filing jointly in 2014 then separately in 2015.

As far as tax problems…I just want to know NOW what I am going to be responsible so I can plan for it. Same goes for any penalties involved in accessing or using the money in his/our 401K. Just don't want any surprises.

Any CASH that changes hands as part of a divorce settlement is TAX FREE to the recipient. There were some items that I was due to get, but which had to wait a few months to settle (some Capital Stock) but it matured and the distribution was TAX FREE TO ME because it was part of the settlement and took place within 12 months of the settlement being signed.

IRAs should be ROLLED OVER so nobody gets hit with the tax. This is what a QDRO is for -- an attorney will draw up the paperwork and submit it to the financial institution that holds those funds.

According to the IRS, your marital status as of December 31 is how you file. If your divorce is final on December 30, 2014, you cannot file MARRIED for the year. Most folks continue to file married/jointly UNTIL they are divorced. This is a tax advantage for both parties. The now-X and I filed jointly for 2005 and 2006 and split the refund. He had a blue-tailed FIT about it, but there wasn't much he could do about it.