Should I get an attorney if Im getting a divorce and everything is my name & my husband has not FILED taxes?

OK, Magical,

The IRS issue does NOT need a lawyer, but it needs clarification on your part. You said you married in April. April 2010 or April 2011?

If you married in April 2011, then his 2010 taxes will certainly have nothing to do with you. If you married in April 2010, you both were supposed to file as married for 2010. Since you mentioned that you just now discovered he did not file his taxes, it means you did not file jointly for 2010. This is good, because you're now protected from his IRS problems for 2010. But you must have filed as "married filing separately" in 2010 yourself. If you filed as single for 2010, you broke the rules and must fix this mistake. Not because of his taxes, but because you made a mistake on your own taxes.

Regardless of your marriage date, make sure you do NOT file a joint return for 2011 next spring, and you will avoid any IRS problem related to your husband. You must file as "married filing separately" for 2011, unless you manage to finalize your divorce before 2012 which is very unlikely in the remaining 3 weeks.

Divorce lawyer is a totally different story. I have been involved as a tax advisor in dozens of divorces of my clients. I'll give you two contradicting answers, and you will see why.

Prudent answer. Get a divorce lawyer. Your husband clearly does not have his act together, both financially and otherwise. You can expect more trouble from him. Lawyers are supposed to protect your interest and make sure he does not hurt you financially.

Practical answer. Divorce lawyers are very expensive. Depending on how much you have to lose in the worst case scenario (like your house and your business) - it makes sense to compare your possible loss with the cost of hiring a lawyer. "Hire a lawyer" is not such a no-brainer when you consider the cost. I have witnessed too many divorces where the divorcing couple paid MORE money to the lawyers than the money they had at stake.

I recommend you consult two or three (not one, because one can be wrong!) local divorce attorneys and find out if your house and business are at risk. If yes - then probably you have to hire an attorney, despite the cost. If the only thing you're risking is $25k vehicle - then attorney help may not be worth it. Warning: if you live in one of the "community property" states (AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI) - then you will likely need a lawyer, because your house and business are probably at risk.

Bottom line: whether you end up hiring a lawyer or not, make sure to at least get legal consultation, from more than one attorney, and only from local attorneys.

Michael Plaks, EA, Houston TX

www.MichaelPlaks.com

If he has not paid taxes in years, that suggests to me that he is not fiscally responsible. If you let him hold onto the car, the likely result is that he will pay you back for neither the business nor the car.

Since there are substantial assets involved, I suggest you get a lawyer. Other than outright forgiving him all the debt, this will be the most painless path for you, and likely the cheapest. I foresee a long, psychologically draining struggle to get him to do anything after the divorce.

If you're in a community property state, he may own half the vehicle, anyway. You really want a court to divide up everything. A possible solution is that the car simply gets sold, and the proceeds are divided between you. Or all the proceeds might go to him, in exchange for his equity in the business. Or if the business has negative equity, then maybe all the proceeds would go to you, in satisfaction of his share of the debt.

you are probably getting lawyer for the divorce so that should be a moot question

with everything in your name, everything is yours

of course, if you are in a community property state, the time of your marriage is equally each of you

if your home was all yours prior to the marriage he would have a half share of it during the marriage, the car you bought for him, probably during the marriage is half his, his business, is half yours but since you apparently filed married separately for 2010, you likely are not liable for it

you really need a good lawyer and one who knows about taxes would be more than helpful

Holy smokes...you really need to get a lawyer. This kind of stuff can get complicated. Best way to find a reliable lawyer is to get referrals from friends. If it's a different type of lawyer, contact him/her and have them refer you to a trustworthy one that handles divorce issues like these.

link below might point you in the right direction too. So, best of luck.

Tax problem or no. Get an attorney anyway.

Get an attorney and don't do it online, it's sketchy.Hope it works out.

YES!! Sue his *** for all he's got!!

LAWYER.

NOW.