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Controlling Your Contracts

10/29/2020

Michael Lodge, NCPM, CRTP - Certified Mediator - www.lodge-co.com

When I first started out in the business world I worked for a company that built co-generation power plants all over the world. Big combustible bed boilers that created several types of revenue streams and were big projects to build. These were big $300 to $500 million dollar projects. My role was as the Project Administrator, to go through the contracts, organize the contracts, and put together the building budgets for the projects. Then from their I went to work for a investment banking firm that invested and owned power facilities throughout the United States. Two big jobs that gave me the best lesson ever - know your contracts.

Now on big building projects you have hundreds of contracts, you read them through, because they are going to be a part of your life through a particular part of the building stage. If you do not know your contracts then you will not know how to organize your vendors around those contracts. Not knowing your contracts will cost you a lot of money if you do not follow the contract and question certain parts of the contracts. In my role I had to know both, the contracts and the finance administration side of the contracts. A contract has a land of its own, it can cover risk, insurance, taxation, due dates, penalties, changes, etc. I remember that as soon as we had a build contract this big set of binders of every set of construction contracts were put on my desk, and page by page I would go through them and onto a spreadsheet the information would go.

On the operational side of a contract there are also a lot of contractual data you have to know. In my case they were energy projects. This meant that I had to know production schedules, on-peak hours to super-on-peak hours, inventory of natural gas in the pipeline, what partners in the contract were going to get paid, and the list goes on. The first job I had was to make sure the contracts and the data were organized, the second job the same. The point is - know your contracts.

If you don't have experience in the reading of contracts, get some help. There are schools that teach this information. Take some project management classes. The better you know your contracts the better you will make money. Be smart, be proactive, know your contracts.

Divorce, Separation and Your Taxes

10/12/2020

Michael Lodge, NCPM, CRTP - Nationally Certified Professional Mediator - www.lodge-co.com

One of the most important aspects, often forgotten about, is the tax consequences as you go through separation and then divorce. I always tell those who are going through separation and divorce to consult your tax practitioners. Go to one that really understand the tax rules of separation and divorce. The IRS has guidelines to follow. Do your own due diligence in knowing your financial and tax situation. You need to understand the separation agreement and all the way through to the final divorce decree, it will affect your tax situation.

Taxpayers should be aware of tax law changes related to alimony and separation payments. These payments are made after a divorce or separation. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changed the rules around them, which will affect certain taxpayers when they file their 2019 tax returns next year.

Here are some facts that will help people understand these changes and who they will impact:

The law relates to payments under a divorce or separation agreement. This includes:
- Divorce decrees.
- Separate maintenance decrees.
- Written separation agreements.
In general, the taxpayer who makes payments to a spouse or former spouse can deduct it on their tax return. The taxpayer who receives the payments is required to include it in their income.
Beginning January 1, 2019, alimony or separate maintenance payments are not deductible from the income of the payer spouse, or includable in the income of the receiving spouse, if made under a divorce or separation agreement executed after December 31, 2018.
If an agreement was executed on or before December 31, 2018 and then modified after that date, the new law also applies. The new law applies if the modification does these two things:
- It changes the terms of the alimony or separate maintenance payments.
- It specifically says that alimony or separate maintenance payments are not deductible by the payer spouse or includable in the income of the receiving spouse.
Agreements executed on or before December 31, 2018 follow the previous rules. If an agreement was modified after that date, the agreement still follows the previous law as long as the modifications don’t do what’s described above.

IRS PUBLICATIONS - More Information:

The Parenting Agreement

10/2/2020

Michael Lodge, NCPM, CRTP - Nationally Certified Professional Mediator - www.lodge-co.com

Over the last three weeks I have been contacted by new clients wanting to negotiate a separation agreement or re-negotiate the agreement when it pertains to child care and parenting agreements. And some did not understand what they were signing and want help understanding what they signed and maybe change it slightly. Perhaps, people sat around not doing anything during Covid and came up with new wants because they had time to think about it. Maybe not so good.

The other issue is that some have decided that they want out of the marriage. So separation and parenting agreements are needed, to set up some rules during the separation. Some parents come into the mediation session with me steaming mad and other come in with a real desire to set up some rules for the parents to go by during their separation. I like those kinds of parents.

You would be surprised of the role of the Mediator in a parenting planning, the mediator becomes the educator. The mediator focuses on the needs of both the parents and the children. One part of this is to educate the clients about their new parent roles. In my sessions, I share my expertise with the clients, acting sometimes as a mediator and sometimes as an educator, but always in a way that helps the clients stay in charge of their decisions.

As a mediator I can be helpful as an educator to the parents about the future developmental needs of their children. I will share relevant information in general terms but no in a therapeutic way. In fact I have told parents I have not their therapist. Children at each age group have different responses to separation and divorce and different needs from their parents. It is important that a mediator knows this information so that the education process of the mediation means something to the parent(s).

Mediators can make a positive impact in working through the separation, parenting agreements, and through to the divorce. If everyone understands the rules and lives by them, the process is no longer just a process it is a meaningful way to help the children cope with the whole experience. It helps the parents to. Sometimes, even after the divorce, the parenting agreements needs to be revisited.

A great quote that I have found is, "Husbands and wives divorce but family's never do".

If you are going through a separation and need to sit with a mediator to help you, contact my office at: 305.824.2963

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Controlling Your Contracts

Divorce, Separation and Your Taxes

The Parenting Agreement

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