I just got a call from my lawyer - my husband has accepted the divorced petition, and she can proceed to filing for divorce. She told me if she does it today, the divorce would be final by mid-December 2004. Or she could wait a couple of weeks so the divorce wouldn't be final until January 2005. There are tax implications she told me, and I'd have to talk to a tax expert before making a decision. Well, I can't afford to pay anyone for this information, so I'm hoping I'll find someone who knows the answer!

It would be a no brainer if the marital tax penalty was in affect this year, but it isn't. If it was, I'd have called her back and told her to FILE NOW! But.... if the divorce is final before the end of the year, we would both have to file our taxes as singles, and since my husband is the one who has always paid the mortgage and household bills, it makes sense to me that he would get the tax benefits of that. So.... wouldn't it make more sense to wait a few weeks so the divorce wouldn't be final until January 2005?

Which ever you decide, just make sure if there is an income tax return check that you have your attorney handle that. I was stupid and signed my name and mailed it back to my husband as he 'promised' to split it with me. As you can guess, that never happened. Have him sign it, give it to your atty, you sign it and let the atty distribute the proceeds.