One of the topics that may cause a lot of divisiveness and uncertainty in a divorce is alimony, also known as spousal support. Alimony will not be granted in every divorce, but when it is granted, the spouses involved need to take heed of their recordkeeping practices. The information contained within each payment is vital, and you will want to keep track of it just in case there are any pieces of litigation in the future.
So if you are receiving or paying alimony, what should you know about recordkeeping?
First, let’s discuss a major reason why you should track information about alimony payments that doesn’t involve litigation filed by your ex. Alimony has massive tax implications. The paying spouse can deduct his or her alimony payments from their taxable income, while the receiving spouse must include it in his or her taxable income. This alone is reason enough to track your alimony.
With that in mind, what information should you track? If the payment is made by check, you should log the check number, the bank used, the account number, the payment amount, the date the payment was made, and the address it was sent to or received at. If checks aren’t used and the paying spouse decides to utilize cash, then the two of you need to create your own paper receipt and sign the receipt to ensure there is documentation that a payment took place.
Source: FindLaw, “Alimony Guidelines: What Records to Keep Regarding Your Alimony,” Accessed Oct. 12, 2017