Allen Dell, P. A. is pleased to announce that Christine A. Hearn, Esq. has joined the firm as a shareholder and will continue her practice in the area of marital and family law.  Ms. Hearn has practiced exclusively in the area of marital and family law in the Tampa Bay area and throughout the State of Florida for almost 25 years.  As a skilled trial lawyer and experienced collaborative divorce practitioner, she efficiently and effectively advocates for her clients with a “common sense” approach.  Her representative clients include doctors, lawyers, CEO’s and other corporate executives, financial advisors, business owners, professional athletes, and their spouses.

Ms. Hearn has been formally trained as a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator and has used these skills to successfully negotiate settlements in most of her cases.  She is a founding member of Next Generation Divorce, and served as the organization’s President from 2014-2015.  Ms. Hearn is also a member of the Tampa Bay Academy of Collaborative Professionals, and the former Co-Chair of the Collaborative Law Section of the Hillsborough County Bar Association.  She is also a member of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar, as well as the Hillsborough County Bar Association.

Ms. Hearn received her B.S. from the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University in 1990, and her J.D. from Notre Dame Law School, cum laude, in 1994.  She is also a certified Guardian ad Litem volunteer and has served on the Board of Directors of the Child Abuse Council and the Forest Hills Youth Baseball League.

According to the ABA Journal  on February 6, 2018, some experts are predicting a surge in divorces this year as spouses paying alimony seek to take advantage of the deduction before it is eliminated.  Because of the new tax law, spouses paying alimony won’t be able to take a deduction while spouses receiving alimony will no longer have to report it as income, report Politico, USA Today and Morningstar. The alimony deduction has been in the tax code since 1942.  The change doesn’t affect people who divorce before 2019.

Will the change affect prenuptial agreements that call for payment of a set amount of alimony if there is a divorce?

The lawyers at Allen Dell are available to answer these questions and assist you with your family law needs.

For more information go to:
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/new_tax_law_affects_alimony_could_spur_divorce_surge/?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_email