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Showing posts from April, 2015

Should You Get Married (Or Divorced) For Tax Reasons?

Should You Get Married (Or Divorced) For Tax Reasons? By  RITCHIE KING I was super excited about doing my taxes this year. I got married last June and couldn’t wait to exercise that most glorious privilege of matrimony — the ability to file jointly. But after my wife and I filled out our tax return, I wondered … did we actually save any money, or did we, like an estimated 38 percent 1  of couples, end up having to pay more because of our new legal status? We’re not the only ones to have wondered about this question. Nick Kasprak, a developer at the  Center on Budget and Policy Priorities , and Kyle Pomerleau, an economist at the  Tax Foundation , recently ran a series of simulations to figure out which married couples benefit this year and which don’t. Fortunately, they were willing to share their data with us. (They also shared it with our friends at The Upshot, who published  a story about the so-called marriage penalty  earlier on Wednesday. Like many of you during tax

Foreclosure and Divorce Illinois/Chicago

Divorce and foreclosure often go hand in hand. If you find yourself facing a divorce, you may have questions about your current home mortgage, particularly who is liable for the debt after the divorce and how to avoid a foreclosure. Read on to get the information you need to help you through this difficult time. (To learn the ins and outs of the foreclosure process, and foreclosure procedures in your state, visit our  Foreclosure Center .) Who Is Responsible for the Mortgage? The first thing that a divorcing couple must first figure out is who is responsible for the mortgage debt. In many cases, when married couples first take out a mortgage, they obtain the loan and take title to the property jointly. In other circumstances, just one spouse may take out the mortgage and sign the promissory note. Signing a mortgage and promissory note has important legal and financial ramifications. The note creates the promise to pay, whereas the mortgage creates the lien on the property. (Learn