January is a time for new beginnings, and is a popular time to get divorced. Here’s why you might want to consider waiting until the new year to officially it quits.
Try For Happier Holidays
No one wants to upset the holidays with a divorce, so many couples wait until the new year to begin their treacherous split. It makes sense to give the kids the best Christmas possible without creating traumatic memories that will haunt them every time they see holiday lights. It’s obviously nice to wait until guests return home before making things overly awkward, but if you and your spouse can’t put on your happy faces for everyone, you might want to consider spending the holidays somewhat apart (you with your extended family, your spouse with theirs, kids divided or not), even if you don’t tell the kids what’s happening right away.
Better-Kept Records, Better Planning
Before filing, start collecting all of your household’s end-of-the-year statements. Become aware of your household budget, your assets, what’s in your checking account, your mortgage payment, and all of your debts and your credit card balances. Note that a person’s marital status on December 31 determines whether or not the following year’s taxes are filed jointly. The good news? You have a whole year to read up on filing taxes after divorce.
Filing for divorce in January instead of December won’t always affect your taxes significantly (many couples continue filing jointly until their divorce is final). Having complete records from 2013 will be to your advantage, however; making sure you have everything ready for tax season is important before filing for divorce. Filing sooner than later at this point is a good idea, as you will have more time to attend to tax planning for the next year. Begin figuring out things like who will get the mortgage interest deduction and who will take exemptions for children this year.
Marital Property
If your spouse is expecting a big year-end bonus, waiting until after the end of the year to file for divorce can help clarify that this income is marital property, meaning that you would be entitled to a share of it in the property distribution. Filing at the beginning of January can keep things divided between one year and the next, before filing and after filing. While you can’t necessarily control when your divorce will be final or how things will play out when dividing assets, you can at least control the day you file!
