It’s been confirmed that after 13 years of marriage, Gwen Stefani has filed for divorce from husband Gavin Rossdale.
Stefani and Rossdale Split
It was a shock to many when they read the statement from the rockstar couple:
“While the two of us have come to the mutual decision that we will no longer be partners in marriage, we remain partners in parenthood and are committed to jointly raising our three sons in a happy and healthy environment,” the couple said. “To that end, we respectfully request privacy from the media during this time.”
The two met in 1995, when their bands,No Doubt and Bush toured together with the Goo Goo Dolls. On describing their first date, Rossdale, 49, had this to say: “I threw a party in New Orleans just as an excuse to hang out with her. We drank a bunch of hurricanes and went around the French Quarter. We had our first kiss that night, just walking around, being careful to step over the puddles of pee. The next day we had that sort of cute, embarrassed, sober meet-up.”
The two were married in 2002, but are now citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split.
“Irreconcilable Differences”
To start the divorce process one of the spouses must file a petition. Even if both spouses are in agreement, one of them will have to file a petition with the court asking for the divorce. This petition states the grounds for the divorce. These vary from state to state. California is a no-fault state, meaning no fault is placed on either party regardless of infidelity, etc… All jurisdictions allow for some type of no-fault grounds such as “irreconcilable differences.” Some states will consider fault grounds for divorce, such as adultery or abandonment. Your family law attorney will be able to advise you on if fault grounds are available in your state, and if so, whether or not it makes sense to file for divorce on fault grounds.
While Stefani, 45, filed first, Rossdale filed his response on the same day.
Kids for Gwen and Gavin
The two share three sons.
Kingston James McGregor Rossdale was born in 2006. And the couple later welcomed second son, Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale, in 2008.And in February 2014, Apollo Bowie Flynn Rossdale was born.
“While the two of us have come to the mutual decision that we will no longer be partners in marriage, we remain partners in parenthood,’ the joint statement announcing the split said. “We are committed to jointly raising our three sons in a happy and healthy environment.”
Stefani and Rossdale have both petitioned for joint custody of 9-year-old Kingston, 6-year-old Zuma, and 1-year-old Apollo.
Joint Custody
Parents not living together have joint or shared custody when they share the decision-making responsibilities for, and/or physical control and custody of, their children. Joint custody can be awarded if the parents are divorced, separated, or no longer cohabiting, or even if they never lived together.
Forms of Joint Custody
Joint custody can be in many forms:
1. joint legal custody
2. joint physical custody. This is where the children spend a significant portion of time with each parent separately
3. joint legal and physical custody.
It’s common that couples share physical custody also share legal custody. It is not necessarily the other way around.
Joint Custody Arrangements
Usually parents work out a schedule according to work requirements, housing arrangements, and the children’s needs when joint custody is shared. If parents are not able to agree on a schedule, the court arranges and imposes an arrangement. The most common pattern is for the child to split weeks between each parent’s home. Here are some other joint physical custody arrangements:
1. alternating months, years, or six-month periods
2. spending weekends and holidays with one parent, and then spending weekdays with the other.
“birds nest custody,” where the child remains in the family home while the parents take turns moving in and out. In this instance the parents each have their own separate housing.
Joint Custody – Advantages and Disadvantages
While joint custody assures the children have continued contact and involvement with both parents and alleviates some of the burdens of parenting for each parent, there are, some disadvantages. For example, children have to be shuttled around between parents, non-cooperative parents can have negative effects on children, and maintaining two homes for the children can be costly.
If you have a joint custody arrangement, it’s important to maintain detailed and organized financial records of all of your expenses such as groceries, school and after-school activities, clothing, and medical care. Because your ex may claim she or he has spent more money on the kids than you have it’s important to keep all records. A judge will appreciate your detailed records.
Spousal Support
In addition to joint custody, Stefani also checked the box to terminate Rossdale’s ability for spousal support. While it looks like the two plan to equally divide the marital assets, there are reports that Stefani has offered to payout Rossdale in one lump sum. The two did not sign a prenuptial agreement, which technically means that Rossdale would be able to take half of the marital property.
While it was originally thought that Stefani is worth around $80 million, it seems that because of her clothing empire and television appearances, her net worth might be closer to $120 million. As a result, it seems that Stefani has offered to pay a one-time payout to Rossdale.
Oftentimes a person might prefer to offer a lump-sum payout of alimony in order to move forward without having a monthly reminder of a prior marriage. To qualify, both spouses will need to agree to a lump sum payment. It’s important to remember that there may be tax consequences if you decide to accept a lump sum payment for your alimony. For example, it may be taxed for the full amount in the year that is received. There are numerous tax laws when it comes to spousal support and child support.
Child Support and Spousal Support During Tax Time
There’s a basic tax law that can often be passed over, ignored, or misinterpreted, if you’re in the midst of an emotional divorce. Regardless of how intense or difficult your divorce is though, you will need to keep this in mind: Alimony payments are tax deductible. Child support payments are not tax deductible. Additionally, alimony payments are taxable to the recipient. Amounts paid for child support are tax free to the recipient.
Tax Strategy During Divorce
It’s important to be mindful of this basic tax law and the ramifications while you’re negotiating the divorce. You should ensure the ruling of alimony or child support properly reflects the tax intentions. And it should be noted that even if the payments are characterized as “alimony” by both sides doesn’t ensure that it will be deductible. There are requirements that need to be met in order for things to be classified as deductible alimony.
Tax-law Requirements to be Considered Deductible Alimony
These are the tax-law requirements that must be met:
- The alimony payment must be made in cash or cash equivalent.
- The alimony payment must be received by a spouse under a divorce or separation agreement. The payment can also be received on behalf of a spouse. This agreement cannot designate the payment as being nontaxable to the recipient spouse and nondeductible by the payer spouse.
- During the time of the payment the payer spouse and the recipient spouse cannot be living together as members of the same household.
- There is no liability to make a payment for any period after the death of the recipient spouse or to make a substitute payment in such a situation.
- Spouses are not allowed to file a joint tax return with each other in the same year as the payment was made.
A Helpful Tip
It might be helpful to work out the best tax deal you can under the circumstances. So if you are able to negotiate with your ex-spouse you should both try.
Working with a Divorce Attorney
Regardless of what process you use, either mediation or a standard divorce, or what level or marital property or child support you are seeking, the divorce process is a difficult one, but one that can be aided by the help of a divorce attorney. There are many aspects of a marriage that must be decided, including child custody, marital property, and alimony. Working with a divorce attorney is a way to make the process smoother. If you’re considering divorce, you should also consider a divorce attorney like the ones at Law Offices of Korol and Velen, Certified Family Law Specialists.