Legal Question in Family Law in Arizona
My ex and I would like to modify our 2009 divorce decree in the way that we split shares in a joint mutual fund. Initially it was 50/50, and she sold her shares, realizing a large enough capital gain that prevented her from claiming the earned income credit. The change would be to modify the split as 25/75. She would amend her 1040 to claim the EIC, and I would amend my 1040 to report the additional income and pay the tax.
Some questions: Is this legal? The lawyer who handled our divorce told me that if we ever needed to make a change in the consent decree, all we would need to do is type it up and both sign -- is this correct? Is there anything else that we need to know?
Thank you for your assistance.
2 Answers from Attorneys
You certainly can simply sign an agreement, and such would be a valid "contract". If you want to be more formal, we could draft a "Stipulation and Order" so that a Judge actually signs off on the modification. More formality would only be beneficial if there is some dispute in the future.
Please let me know if that interests you.
richpeters @ familylawaz.com
/s/ Rich J. Peters
R.J. Peters & Assoc., P.C.
1422 North 2nd Street, Suite 100
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
602-254-7251
facsimile 602-254-1229
see our website at www.familylawaz.com
Unless a stipulation and order is submitted to the judge for signature and adoption, there could be issues with it being binding and legal. I would encourage you to take the additional steps to have an attorney draft a formal agreement. Please let us know if we can assist you in this.
Carlie Owsley Walker
623-748-8973
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